3/24/13 - Palm Sunday - Isaiah 45:22-25

WHERE'S THE POWER?

Palm Sunday Wasn’t All That Powerful

            The people had been waiting for a powerful King.  At least that’s what all of those Old Testament prophecies had predicted.  Those famed prophets who had lived in ancient times had all foretold a God who would come with power and authority and majesty.  Someone who would defeat all of their enemies, someone who would reign in justice and in truth, someone who would save them and guard them and protect them with his powerful right hand.  God himself even described what would happen when he arrived: “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.  By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.’”  All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But in the Lord all the descendants of Israel will be [vindicated] and will exult.”  This was the kind of God that the people were expecting: a God who allows no other gods but himself, a God who speaks irrevocable words, a God who would make every knee bow and every tongue confess, a God who would shame those who rage against him, a God who would vindicate (prove right) those who have trusted in him…  The Jewish people were expecting a mighty God, an impressive God, an imposing God.  And they could not wait for him to arrive.

            But then one Sunday afternoon around 33 AD, he did arrive.  It was just a few days  before the annual Passover celebration began and a man named Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey.  Palm branches were thrown into the street, robes covered the road, his disciples cleared the way, and little children sang his praises as he plodded through the city gates of the of Judea’s capital.  “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” the people shouted.  “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  “Hosanna to the Son of David!”  Jesus was the King.  Jesus was the promised Savior.  Jesus was the God whom the prophets had predicted for so many years.  But Jesus didn’t seem to fit the bill on that Palm Sunday afternoon.

            Jesus didn’t seem to match up with who this Savior was supposed to be.  Jesus didn’t seem to possess any of the characteristics of this mighty heavenly being that the people had heard about for hundreds and hundreds of years.  “This can’t be the one!” they assumed.  “He isn’t making every knee bow down to him!  He isn’t punishing those who persecute us!  He isn’t raising up those who have been faithful to God for all these years!  Where’s the glory?  Where’s the splendor?  Where’s the power?”

            And because Jesus displayed no power that day, most of the people despised him.  They hated him.  And they refused to believe in Jesus because he wasn’t what they were expecting.  He wasn’t what they wanted.  And so they took things into their own hands and they tried to do things their own way because this Galilean riding on a donkey obviously wasn’t going to be able to solve their problems and fix their difficulties.  They were going to have to do that themselves.

We Take Things into Our Own Hands

            Sometimes God’s power seems to be absent in our own lives, doesn’t it?  We expect protection from our God and yet we experience all kinds of accidents and disasters and setbacks.  We expect guidance from our God but we find ourselves turned in the wrong direction on a regular basis.  We expect that our God will always be there right by our side but there are times when he doesn’t seem to be around us at all.  And we are prone to think: “Where’s the power, Lord?  Where’s your strength and your control and your influence, Lord?  Isn’t that what you promised?  Isn’t that who you are?”  And when we get tired of waiting for him to do something, we take things into our own hands.  And when we get tired of praying to him that he might make things right, we start to do things in our own way.  Because this is not what we were expecting from him.  This is not what we wanted.  And so we aren’t going to wait any longer; we are going to take charge ourselves because this man who rode on a donkey into Jerusalem obviously isn’t doing anything to solve our problems or fix our difficulties.  We’re going to have to do that on our own.

             We aren’t very patient with the Lord, are we?  We don’t like to wait for his might and his glory and his power to be displayed in our lives - we want immediate action and immediate results.  And when we don’t get them, we assume something has to change, someone else has to take the lead.  But do we really think we can take things into our own hands and come out any better?  Do we really think that we can do things our way and improve upon the Lord’s plans?

            Last summer, an elderly woman in Spain got fed up waiting for a 100 year-old painting of Christ to be restored in the church she attended.  And so she decided to take matters into her own hands.  When no one was around, she took out her paintbrushes and attempted to restore this beloved painting of the Savior.  Unfortunately, she was no artist.  And if you happened to see the finished result, you know how badly she butchered that painting of Jesus.  It went from a professional, albeit neglected, portrait to nothing more than a grotesque, misshapen face that looked like it was produced by a child with a handful of water colors.  The church had plans to restore it; in fact they had just received a donation to do so; but this 80-year-old woman couldn’t wait any longer and decided to try it herself, ruining the painting in the proces

            We may get a little impatient with our Lord to fix the things we think need to be done.  But whenever we try to take things into our own hands, we only make things worse.  Because we do not have the abilities to do what needs to be done; we do not have the knowledge to understand what is needed for the good of everyone else; and we do not have the insight to realize how and when and why things should happen the way they do.  And no matter how smart we think we are, we are not smart enough to handle things on our own!  That’s why Jesus rode into Palm Sunday in the first place!  Because we couldn’t get the job done!  We couldn’t fix the problem of our own sins!  We couldn’t manage to get ourselves out of the hole we dug with our own actions and attitudes!  We couldn’t do it.  That’s why Jesus came.  And so how could we ever think that we are capable of doing something better than the Lord can now?

Jesus’ Power is Sometimes Hidden in Weakness

            That doesn’t mean that it’s easy to wait for the Lord to do what he plans to do.  Because sometimes the power of the Lord is hidden in the simple.  The Lord’s power was hidden on Palm Sunday in a simple man riding on a simple donkey.  It was hidden in the branches on the road.  It was hidden in the voices of the children.  Jesus certainly didn’t seem powerful at that moment; it definitely didn’t look like he was the one true almighty God; but that’s exactly what the one true almighty God needed to do at exactly the right time.  And his power remained hidden in the simple until the end of the week.  It was hidden in a man arrested late Thursday evening in a garden.  It was hidden in a man who stood on trial before the high priest.  It was hidden in a man sentenced to execution by the Roman governor.  It was hidden in a man carrying his own torture device up a hill.  It was hidden in a man bleeding, in a man crying out, in a man dying.  There was no power there, just weakness.  His power was even hidden in a tomb for three days.  And I’m sure the followers of Jesus were wondering if they needed to do something themselves!  Because this Jesus certainly wasn’t going to be able to do anything anymore!  He was dead!  He was gone!  His body was wrapped up and lying cold in a cave!  Maybe it was time for someone else to step up and get the job done!  But the tomb was exactly where the one true powerful God needed to be at exactly the right time.  It probably wasn’t something that anyone else would have thought up; it probably wasn’t something that we would have planned; but that was the only thing that would have worked.  That simple scene in the darkness of a tomb was the most powerful thing the Lord could have done.  Because through that simplicity came our salvation.

            God’s power is still demonstrated in the simple things today.  In the simple water used in baptism, God’s powerful forgiveness is given.  Through the simple bread and wine used in the Lord’s Supper, Jesus’ real body and blood touches your lips and you are cleansed in a very powerful way.  Through the simple Word of God spoken out loud, the Holy Spirit powerfully works on our hearts.  Through the simplicity of a cross, through the simplicity of a drop of blood, through the simplicity of a nail, the powerful plan of our salvation is brought to mind once again and we are filled with peace.  God’s power has always been hidden in the simple.  And sometimes the simplest things are the most powerful of all.

Jesus’ Power Will be on Full Display

            But one day soon that all will change.  One day soon the Lord will unhinge his power and glory and might and all of those Old Testament prophecies will come true.  Even those words the Lord said through Isaiah will be fulfilled: “I am God, and there is no other.  By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.’”  All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But in the Lord all the descendants of Israel will be [vindicated] and will exult.”  Every knee will bow.  Every tongue will confess.  Every enemy will be destroyed.  Every believer will be proved right.  The Lord will be the one true God and he will allow no others.  His power is coming.  His full uninhibited power is coming.  And it will not be clothed in the simple any longer.  It will not be found riding on a donkey or standing on trial or hanging on a cross or lying in a tomb.  It will be seen for what it is: an overwhelming display of the divine might of God.  And you will never have to wait again.  You will never have to wonder or worry about when God will display his strength in your life.  Because you will be living in that majesty.  You will be reveling in that glory.  And so just like those believers during the time of Christ, you can look forward to and expect a powerful King.  But as you sing his praises with the believers in heaven just as those children did on the rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the power of God will not pass you by.  It will not ride on out of sight.  It will not fade away.  So hold on.  Be patient.  His power is coming.  And it will come at exactly the right time.

            Amen.

“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.  Amen.”  - 1 Tim. 1:17

3/13,20/13 - Midweek Lent - Luke 22:54-62

THE LOOK

A Look Can Say A Lot

            A look can say a lot without a word being said.  A father rushes into the room after hearing a crash and finds that his children have broken a lamp; and they know just by the look he gives them that they are in some serious trouble.  A husband says something rude and out-of-place; and he knows just by the look that his wife gives him that he better apologize.  A woman is chatting with her friends during work when she catches her boss out of the corner of her eye; and she knows just by the look on his face that she should get back to work right away.  A look can say a lot without a word being said.  Especially when the person being looked at knows that they have done something wrong.

            The apostle Peter never would have imagined that he would receive “The Look” from his Savior because Peter had been bold about his faith from the very beginning.  Remember that Peter was the only one who asked Jesus to allow him to walk on water out to his Lord.  Peter was the only one who rebuked Jesus to his face when he didn’t agree with God’s plan.  Peter was always the first one to confess his faith in the Lord whenever the opportunity arose.  And on the night that Jesus was betrayed, Peter was the first one who swore to his Lord that he would never reject him - no matter what the cost.

            But then, later that night, things to a turn that Peter wasn’t expecting.  Judas Iscariot suddenly showed up in the Garden of Gethsemane with a mob of men and, with a hypocritical kiss on the cheek, Judas marked Jesus as the one they were to arrest.  Peter and the rest of the disciples ran away and Jesus was surrounded.  Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance.  But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them.  A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”  But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.  A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”  “Man, I am not!” Peter replied.  About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”  Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed.  The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.”  And he went outside and wept bitterly.

            Jesus turned and looked at Peter but there was no reason for Jesus to say a word.  There was nothing left for Jesus to say.  Because Peter knew.  He instantly knew what he had done.  He remembered the promise he had made, now broken.  And he recalled with Jesus had predicted despite his own bold claims.  And with the face of the one whom he had just disowned fresh in his mind, Peter ran outside and cried in misery.

A Look of Disappointment

            I’ve received “The Look” once or twice in my life.  And I give “The Look” to my own children once or twice a week.  But I shudder to think about what kind of look Jesus could give to me every day.  My unwillingness to do what I know I should do, hesitation to say what I need to say, my general lack of love for others… I can almost see “The Look” on my Lord’s face up in heaven every single time: a look of pure disappointment, maybe a little shaking of the head, the raising of the corner of his mouth, a small sigh.  And although he doesn’t say a word, I say to myself, “Not again!  I didn’t just do that again, did I?  I thought I was better than that!  I thought I had fixed that problem.  I’ve repented of that sin dozens of times before, I’ve promised the Lord that I wouldn’t fall into it again, but here I am anyway.  The proverbial rooster has crowed and I have once again failed miserably.  I have let my Lord down.  And I have no excuse.”

            There is hardly anything worse than letting someone down you look up to so much.  And every day we let the Lord down time and time again.  We have good intentions, we are determined to stay true, but in the end we can’t follow through.  And the rooster crows.  And we know.  We instantly know what we have done.  We remember the promises that we have once again broken.  And we want to run outside and cry because we don’t want to have to face “The Look” that our Lord has every right to give us for being so stubborn and pompous and undependable.

A Look of Love

            But if we do lift our eyes to see Jesus’ face in those times of insufferable guilt, if we do dare to peek at the expression of our powerful God, we will notice that there is no anger in his look.  There may be a little bit of disappointment because of what we have done, there may be a little sadness, but there is also a glow of love in his eyes.  Because “The Look” Jesus gives sinners isn’t one of impending punishment; it is one of unending compassion.

            Jesus looked at Peter after the rooster crowed in the exact same way.  It must have been a look of love and mercy and compassion because even though Scripture doesn’t elaborate on the specific expression on Jesus’ face at that moment, Jesus’ subsequent actions tell us very clearly what his attitude towards Peter was.  While Peter ran outside with a feeling of overwhelming guilt, Jesus walked outside to the palace of the Roman governor to be declared guilty.  While Peter was wiping the tears from his face, Jesus was wiping the blood from his face from the beatings and the crown of thorns at the hands of the soldiers.  As Peter stopped crying, Jesus began dying.  And all of the remorse that Peter had been experiencing, all of the guilt that Peter had been carrying, was all at once placed upon the shoulders of Jesus as he carried it on the cross.  Which meant that Peter’s conscience could be soothed; his shame, shed; his guilt, gone.  Jesus carried it all so that Peter would never have to carry any of it ever again.

            Your conscience can be soothed - and it is; your shame shed; your guilt gone.  Because Jesus didn’t just carry those things for Peter.  And he doesn’t just give “The Look” to Peter either.  Whenever that rooster crows in our lives and we become aware of our sinfulness and we are once again thrown down to the ground by the weight of our guilt, our Savior gives us that same look of love and mercy and compassion.  He takes the guilt off our shoulders and he gently lifts us up.  He then points our eyes to his cross because on those bloody wooden beams our guilt has already been carried and we don’t ever have to worry about it again.  It’s true!  Even those deep dark sins that no one else knows about, those nagging feelings of shame that keep rumbling up inside, those awful self-inflicted humiliations that reemerge year after year, those moments of disgrace that you can’t seem to shake… they no longer exist!  Jesus has paid the full price.  And as far as he is concerned, there’s nothing left for you to feel guilty about.  “But what about that awful sin!” we cry.  “What about those hateful words!  What about those nasty thoughts!  I still feel guilty about those things!”  But what you feel and what is real are sometimes completely different.  And when we glance up at “The Look” Jesus is giving us, we start to understand why.  Because no matter what you’ve done, his look is a look of love and mercy and compassion.  And regardless of what you may feel, under the gaze of that look there is no doubt that you are forgiven.  “The Look” of your Savior says it all - without a word being said.  Amen.