March 24, 2019 - Sermon over Luke 13:1-9 "The Elderly Catholic Priest" - a sermon about Repentance

As much as I dislike preaching about politics, there are times when it just cannot be avoided and in fact, there are times when the Good Lord seems to be beaconing me to preach over what are viewed at least as being political topics.  The topic which I addressed in the sermon this last Sunday was abortion.  To be entirely honest, I don't think abortion is either a political nor a religious topic, it's a moral topic.  There is just no justification (no matter how hard some try to rationalize and legitimize abortion) to kill an entirely innocent child.  Abortion is entirely evil and I apologize if that offends you but it is the truth... to be honest, I didn't address the issues around abortion in the sermon nor will I here, it is absolutely a foregone conclusion that abortion is wrong, evil, and indefensible.

In the sermon, I talk about an elderly Catholic Priest who came into the Gallery in Omaha several years ago, he was a very interesting soul and in many ways, to me he served (and serves) as a harbinger of our fate as a Nation... we are fast approaching the point of no return and we must repent and beg our Lord's forgiveness for deserting the most vulnerable and innocent among us.  There is simply no way to take seriously anyone professing to be a 'social justice warrior' who at the same time supports and advocates abortion.  If these are your positions I apologize if you are offended but honestly you need to be offended... and you need to repent!

I come to the issue of abortion as one who once was pro-choice.  That position of willful ignorance was smashed before my very eyes when my wife Gail and I lost our second child Wyatt.  He was born alive, kicking and trying to scream at 22 weeks term.  The hospital refused to attempt to save him and rather rushed him out of the room and would not allow me to even hold him as he died.  Those moments and the grief that Gail and I have borne ever since that day are sheer agony to our souls.

Once they brought our son back to us, DEAD, I could see a perfect little human being... an absolutely beautiful little boy... who hauntingly looked exactly like our first son Creath.  They would have been like two little twins separated by just two years.  His birthday is coming up in just three weeks... the worst day of the year for me...

Be a blessing to someone today...

In Christ,
Roy

Luke 13:1-9 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Repent or Perish
13 At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ 8 He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

Ezekiel 33:7-20 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
7 So you, mortal, I have made a sentinel for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 8 If I say to the wicked, “O wicked ones, you shall surely die,” and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at your hand. 9 But if you warn the wicked to turn from their ways, and they do not turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but you will have saved your life.
God’s Justice and Mercy
10 Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel, Thus you have said: “Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live?” 11 Say to them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel? 12 And you, mortal, say to your people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not save them when they transgress; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, it shall not make them stumble when they turn from their wickedness; and the righteous shall not be able to live by their righteousness when they sin. 13 Though I say to the righteous that they shall surely live, yet if they trust in their righteousness and commit iniquity, none of their righteous deeds shall be remembered; but in the iniquity that they have committed they shall die. 14 Again, though I say to the wicked, “You shall surely die,” yet if they turn from their sin and do what is lawful and right— 15 if the wicked restore the pledge, give back what they have taken by robbery, and walk in the statutes of life, committing no iniquity—they shall surely live, they shall not die. 16 None of the sins that they have committed shall be remembered against them; they have done what is lawful and right, they shall surely live.

17 Yet your people say, “The way of the Lord is not just,” when it is their own way that is not just. 18 When the righteous turn from their righteousness, and commit iniquity, they shall die for it. 19 And when the wicked turn from their wickedness, and do what is lawful and right, they shall live by it. 20 Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is not just.” O house of Israel, I will judge all of you according to your ways!

Lazarus, rising from the dead.

This past Sunday's Lectionary offering from the Gospels found us in the 11th Chapter of the Gospel of John, and the story of the Resurrection of Lazarus.  This bit of Scripture is ripe for Preaching and any number of avenues can be approached.  I will touch on three of the points in the sermon.  

First, the waiting of four days before coming to Bethany to render aid to Mary, Martha, and of course Lazarus.  There was at the time of Jesus a common belief among the Hebrew people that the soul stayed near the body for three days, on the fourth day the body no longer recognized it's old vessel due to decay and the soul would then depart.  By waiting four days, Jesus underscored that fact that Lazarus was 'good and dead', he wasn't coming back and his soul 'had left the building'.  Just as there had never been anyone cured of blindness that had been born blind (from last week's Gospel offering), nobody could bring back someone whose corpse had begun to decay... no-one that is except for God the Father.  By raising Lazarus on the fourth day, Christ showed not only that He and the Father were one, but it highlighted the scope of God's ability and God's glory.

Second, that though Jesus waited to come to Lazarus' aid, that neither He nor God the Father caused Lazarus' illness and death.  God does not cause bad things to happen to anyone, what God can do (and very often will do if we are open and receptive), is bring good out of the darkness and show God's glory and love to His children.  God neither caused the blindness of the man in last week's story, nor did He cause the death of Lazarus, but both stories show an escalating display of God's ability, glory, grace, and His unfailing love for His creation.

Third, I used this story as an illustration of our life in prayer. Martha and Mary send word to Jesus that their brother was in need of His assistance.  This event is no different than when we raise petitions to God for His intercession in our or our loved one's lives.  I have heard it often said that when we pray we can get one of three answers, yes, no, or wait; but, the reality is there are only two answers, yes or no.  Within the 'yes' there can also be a stipulation of 'wait', and with the 'no' there can also be a requirement of 'wait'.  Perhaps our biggest failing as humans is our difficulty with the 'wait' component of either the yes or no.  I used my search for a pulpit and my calling here to Woodlawn Christian as an illustration for the 'no' but 'wait'.  Many times we pray for something without the knowledge that God is working behind the scenes with something much better in the wings.  If we can just put our impatient human nature to rest we can 'wait' and realize the fullness of what God wants and wishes for us on this journey to serve Him and His creation.

Beyond these three points, there is also the enormous message delivered by the Bible's shortest verse (John 11:35) "Jesus wept".  The shortest verse and potentially one of the most powerful messages in scripture.  I'm going to be a bit importunate and pertinacious and ask that you watch the sermon to get the full extent of the message of "Jesus wept".

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His love & glory,

Roy

John 11:1-45  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus,[a] “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, 6 after having heard that Lazarus[b] was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. 10 But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” 11 After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” 13 Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Thomas, who was called the Twin,[c] said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Jesus the Resurrection and the Life

17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus[d] had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles[e] away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[f] Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah,[g] the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

28 When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus began to weep. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus to Life

38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

The Wedding at Cana, Sermon given Jan 8, 2017

This past Sunday I decided to deviate from the Lectionary and preached over the beginning of the second chapter of John, the Wedding at Cana.  This bit of scripture is well known to most of us as the first miracle by Jesus in the Gospel of John.  Much is made about this being Jesus' first miracle and also much is made about the quantity of the wine that was created and it's focus upon the abundance.  I chose to look at the scripture from a somewhat different direction (directions actually).  One of the wonderful things about scripture is that much like a faceted gem one can look at it from so very many different angles and observe so much more beauty... sometimes a new beauty upon each viewing.

The sermon isn't terribly long so please take a listen.

John 2:1-12 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Wedding at Cana

1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. 9 When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they remained there a few days.

At the beginning of the sermon I do mention my friend Kelly Wills.  Kelly passed away yesterday after a series of progressively more serious health incidents.  A few months ago Kelly had a serious stroke which left him unable to swallow and unable to walk.  After fighting back and getting well enough to come home for Christmas he came down with pneumonia after the first and was hospitalized.  Finally, while at the hospital he went into cardiac arrest and was only resuscitated with great difficulty, this left him in a coma and on a ventilator.  Yesterday he passed from this world and into our Lord's Kingdom.  I ask for prayers for Kelly's wife Patti and all of Kelly's family and friends.

I confess that Kelly's death has hit me particularly hard.  Kelly was a friend of mine from my Jaycee days, he was the local president of the Millard Jaycees when I was a District Director and his chapter was a part of my District.  Kelly was a very important part of our District becoming the number one District in Nebraska and the number two District in the USA.  He went on to be the US Jaycee President a few years later and was always an inspiration to everyone he met.

Beyond our Jaycee involvement though Kelly was a great friend and a great confidant to me during a very difficult time in my life.  His generosity, kindness, and concern will always mean the world to me.  The knowledge that he was almost to the day one year younger than I am... is also a very sobering fact.  He has passed far too early and far too young... God bless you, Kelly!

It's been a difficult year thus far with the loss of Kelly, the suicide of the son of an old friend, learning of another old friend with a diagnosis of advanced cancer, a relative of mine losing his business, and several other incidents that I'm not at liberty to discuss.  At barely a week and a half in, 2017 has already become packed with heartache and tragedy.

Hug your loved ones, call your friends and family... not one of us is promised tomorrow.

Thank you for taking a swing through this small and quiet corner of the internet.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Grace & Love,

Roy