The Message of Jesus Christ Blog

It's Time to Hit the Reset Button

A few years ago, a survey reported that 25% of Americans were unaware that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was the pivotal event celebrated on Easter. Personally, I don’t have a problem with new clothes, Easter baskets, and brightly-colored eggs, but to miss the whole point of Easter is a tragedy! Why? Because the resurrection of Christ is not only the pivotal event of Easter, it is the pivotal event of our lives!

The women who went to the tomb on that first Easter so long ago were not expecting to find a risen Jesus. They journeyed without hope, resigned to his death. They came with no faith that anything could change. But God had hit the ultimate reset button. The disciples who ran and hid from the crucifixion were about to be changed…through the resurrection event, God had reset their thinking and their actions. Jesus changed the landscape of human history…Jesus reset death and because of Him we can all face life differently.

I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for a chance to hit the reset button! The Good News is that with Christ we are given that chance every day. Join us this Easter Sunday as we worship and celebrate our Risen Lord!
Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!

     -- Rev. Cindy Henry Russell

Both Old and New

“’Have you understood all of this?’ They answered, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of the household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’ When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.” (Matthew 13:51-53)

      Jesus closes his parables with a check on our understanding.  The crowd affirmed that they understood. Then, Jesus added a little word picture about someone who is trained in the Kingdom. Those shaped by the kingdom, he says, will possess valuable resources. Some of the resources are the old ways, tried and true. But, surprise: some of the treasures are new!

      What does Jesus mean to communicate?

      He is pointing to the change that the kingdom brings.

      When change comes there are often two opposite reactions. One group, opposing and threatened by change, battles for the old. “There’s valuable stuff here,” they insist. “We can’t risk it for some vague promise in the future!” Another group counts all the old stuff as garbage. “Just get rid of it” they say. “There’s no value there. We have to scrap that old, outdated, irrelevant stuff and go with what’s new and innovative!”

      Is Jesus saying that those who wish to follow as his apprentices in the world should steer way different than either of these options? What’s his teaching here?

      - Ponder this reality: Nobody has such a deficit in their past that there is not some very valuable treasure that should be brought into the future.
      - And, nobody has such a complete and sufficient past that they don’t need to be open to the newness of the future.

      I read a quote recently in Lovett Weems’ wonderful book on change entitled, Take the Next Step. Dr. Weems cites Rosabeth Moss Kanter in her work, The Change Masters: “Change is disturbing when it is done to us, exhilarating when it is done by us.” Wow. True!

      I ask you: in your life can you assert your deepest value, your core belief and at the same time open your life to changes that God will bring? Such a stance is a necessity for those who are apprentices in the kingdom. The kingdom is both old and new. Are you like the master of the household? Can you bring resources both old and new to living?

      This is a time of radical change. Not all change is good. Neither is hanging on to the past only for the sake of tradition. It’s time for fresh expressions. The past is not all liability. The path Jesus points to is the kingdom. That’s what sorts out both the past and the future.

      Jesus brings a new kingdom, filled with new possibilities. The new possibilities are made of treasures that are both old and new. Your life is that way, too.

      God both loves you and calls you!

                                      -- Rev. Richard Lancaster

Piercings and Tats

…The message of Jesus Christ.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every king; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”       (Matthew 13:47-50)

      I was once preaching down at Tucker Prison. After the service, one of the inmates said to me, “You’re a Methodist. You don’t have to be like the Episcopalians! You can preach a little hell-fire!” Obviously, my message about the grace of God had not satisfied his religious palate. But, he also had a point. Sometimes we get squeamish about the subject of eternal judgment. Most often, I think, this is because we erroneously place ourselves in the role of judge. We are uncomfortable, and should be, to think that we have the power to decide who is in and who is out, who is accepted and who is rejected, who makes it to heaven and who is gnashing their teeth in hell.  Often, we find ourselves and our group among the righteous.

      A young man stood up in a meeting this last week and said that younger people don’t come to church because they don’t feel accepted “with their “piercings and tat’s.”  I felt judged.

      Then, I thought: Is he prejudiced against church because he believes the church to be prejudiced? It’s one thing to be judged unacceptable. But, really. I have never seen anybody shown to the door because of their body adornments! I wonder if such things become just another way of washing your hands of the church! Many times I’ve heard that people don’t like church because people are so unfriendly there. Can’t help but wonder about that. What if the person making the charge were to approach others at church with their own friendliness?

      Those on the outside often self-righteously assume those on the inside are self-righteous. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

      The key question is: “Who is building the barrier?” The outside group assumes it’s the inside. The inside assumes it’s the outside.

      It’s a question as old as the Christian faith. In the earliest Christian writings (the Apostle Paul) we find a debate about who is in and who is out. Some said you were in if you kept the Jewish laws. Others said that you were in only because you believed in Christ. Some, within the group that said you were in because you believed in Christ said that you weren’t really in unless you had Spiritual Gifts. And, so the debate raged.

      The Apostle said:

      “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or clanging cymbal…" (I Cor. 13)

      It seems to me that part of the point of Jesus parable of judgment is this: that the eternal separation of us fishes takes place at a higher level than any of us has achieved. It is the angels that do the sorting and not any human. We’ve got a full time job trying to learn to love one another!

      And, for the record: If you have piercings and tattoos, you’re welcome at my church!

First the Sacrifice, Then the Prize

“The Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”         (Matthew 13:44) 

       The Olympics are always impressive. What amazes me, beyond the incredible athletic skill on display, are the stories of great sacrifice that the athletes and their families make in order to compete in the games.

      Some of the athletes have been working at their event since early childhood. Some parents have taken extra jobs so that their children might have the coaches, equipment and the opportunity to develop their skills. Time is invested and money is spent as teams travel to trials and competitions throughout the world leading up to the Olympic competition.

      It is just amazing.

      I am certain that for the one who stands on the awards podium clutching the gold medal, it is all worth it. 

      Much of modern faith seems geared to convenience. The path seems to point to obtaining the Kingdom at the least effort and with the least sacrifice. We don’t want to have to ‘give up’ too much. Even during Lent. Small, symbolic sacrifice is OK, but real inconvenience? That’s another thing! Religion is sold with positive feeling messages about the benefits of accruing to the believer: Faith will make you peaceful, stronger, and more successful.

      Don’t get me wrong. I think there are great benefits to the believer. But, look closely at message of Jesus Christ: The benefits always seem to come as a byproduct of sacrifice!

      This message is seen in Christ’s own life and death. He talks about laying down life for friends. Then, he goes to the cross. He is a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

      Jesus constantly points to scenes of sacrifice. Like the man who is in a field and discovers a hidden treasure: What does he do?  He realizes that he has found something of extreme value. So he hides it again and sells all that he has to purchase the field. It is in joy that he makes his sacrifice. But note: It is only by making the sacrifice that he gains the prize. 

      Some of the tears shed at the 2010 Winter Olympics seemed to me to be tears of deep joy. There is a bond between joy and sacrifice. Is there any deeper joy than the kind of joy that comes with deep sacrifice? The deeper the sacrifice, the greater the joy.

      Jesus invites us first to walk the sacrificial way.

      Then, he calls us to the podium for the treasured reward.   

      It’s up to us to go for the gold.