Emphasis Preaching Journal

2 Kings 2:1-12 “Don’t step on the crack, or you’ll break your mother’s back!” No wonder children are afraid to step on the cracks in the sidewalk: They know, intuitively, that transitions are dangerous places. There’s a scene in the movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, when the intrepid archaeologist/adventurer is fleeing one enemy or another, and comes to the edge of a huge and yawning chasm. He stops his forward progress just in the nick of time, and teeters there, about to fall in. Then he rights himself and surveys his situation. He can’t go back; danger lurks there. Yet, it seems just as impossible to go forward. That would mean certain death. Then, Indy reaches down and picks up a handful of gravel. He throws it out ahead of him, over the cliff. The falling stones don’t travel far: just a few inches below the level of his boots, they land on an invisible footbridge he never knew was there. That’s not a bad image for the transitional times of life: the passages from one stage to another. Whenever we must say good-bye to the old and embrace the new — however fearsome and unfamiliar the new may seem — there may appear for a time to be no way forward. Yet, undoubtedly there is such a way: It just hasn’t been revealed yet.2 Kings 2:1-12 In order to be a leader a man must have followers. And to have followers, a man must have their confidence. Hence the supreme quality of a leader is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, on a football field, in an army, or in an office. If a man’s associates find him guilty of phoniness, if they find that he lacks forthright integrity, he will fail. His teachings and actions must square with each other. The first great need, therefore, is integrity and high purpose.(from Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bits & Pieces, September 15, 1994, p. 4)2 Kings 2:1-12 Peter Drucker offers insightful guidance to the church when he calls leadership a peak performance by one who is “the trumpet that sounds a clear sound of the organizations’ goals.” His five requirements for this task are amazingly reliable and useful for those who dare to lead churches: * a leader works; * a leader sees his assignment as responsibility rather than rank or privilege; * a leader wants strong, capable, self-assured, independent associates; * a leader creates human energies and vision; and * a leader develops followers’ trust by his own consistency and integrity.(from H. B. London Jr. and Neil B. Wiseman, Pastors at Risk [Wheaton, Illinois: Victor Books, 1993], pp. 227-228)2 Kings 2:1-12 Living away from home for the first time is an experience that everyone looks forward to. However there are also temptations. It was the first week of college when Janelle and her roommate attended a party in one of the dormitories. While Janelle was not drinking, others at the party were and before the evening was over, they were caught. The policy of the university is that even if you were not drinking, but were caught with others who were, a letter from the Dean would be placed in the student’s file and another sent home. Janelle could not sleep that night. She had only been away from home for a week and was already in trouble. She wondered what her parents would think. She worried that her college career would be over before it ever started with its zero-tolerance policy. The next morning she found a church near the campus. She was looking for a place to pray. All the doors to the church were locked. She was nearly in tears when one of the women from the church found her. Janelle told her story to Anne. Anne led her to the sanctuary where they prayed together. Janelle remained praying while Anne completed other tasks. The next day, Sunday, Janelle attended worship at the church. At first Anne did not recognize her, she was not as despondent as she had been the day before but was filled with joy. She told the choir director that she planned to come and sing with the choir. Janelle experienced a life-changing event in her first days away from home. She would not be doing anything that would get her into trouble. It was a transformation of sorts. Elisha would soon be on his own, leading the people, after working closely with Elijah. Elisha witnessed Elijah being swept up “in a whirlwind into heaven.” He would lead the people.2 Kings 2:1-12 The story of Elisha’s determination to stay with Elijah until he was taken reminds one of the determined frog. It so happened that a frog decided to explore the inside of the farmer’s barn. Being a bit careless, he fell into a half-filled pail of milk. After swimming around the pail, the frog discovered that the sides were too steep and slippery for him to climb. The milk was too deep for him to put his legs on the bottom and propel himself out of the pail. But the frog was determined. He kicked and squirmed, kicked and squirmed, and in the process turned the milk into butter. The butter became firm enough to support the frog who used it as a springboard out of the pail. The prophetic groups tried to discourage Elisha from following Elijah. Elijah himself knew that seeing him leave would be a difficult assignment for Elisha. But Elisha was determined and he was there and saw the chariots of fire take Elijah from him.2 Corinthians 4:3-6 June felt that her fifth-grade Sunday school class was slighted because it was given the only classroom in the church basement and it didn’t even have a window. Nevertheless, June prayed for her students and did her best in helping them live with God as they learned the high points of 2 Corinthians. When studying chapter 4, she felt her faithfulness rewarded. When all the children arrived, June had them stand near the closed door and face her. She turned out all the lights except for a spotlight directly behind her head and read the text. Although the light filled the room, it was so bright behind her head they couldn’t see her face. Then they turned on the overhead light, switched off the spotlight, and sat down to discuss how God’s light could shine in the world through Jesus but some people still couldn’t see his face.2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Making decisions in the dark can lead to some regrettable consequences. Back in the days before electricity, a tight-fisted old farmer was taking his hired man to task for carrying a lighted lantern when he went to call on his best girl. “Why,” he exclaimed, “when I went a-courtin’ I never carried one of them things. I always went in the dark.” “Yes,” the hired man said wryly, “and look what you got!” 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 In his book, An Anthropologist on Mars, neurologist Oliver Sacks tells about Virgil, a man who had been blind from early childhood. When he was fifty, Virgil underwent surgery and was given the gift of sight. But as he and Dr. Sacks found out, having the physical capacity for sight is not the same as seeing. Virgil’s first experiences with sight were confusing. He was able to make out colors and movements, but arranging them into a coherent picture was more difficult. Over time he learned to identify various objects, but his habits — his behaviors — were still those of a blind man. Dr. Sacks asserts, “One must die as a blind person to be born again as a seeing person. It is the interim, the limbo ... that is so terrible.” To truly see Jesus and his truth means more than observing what he did or said, it means a change of identity.2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Imagine a game of blind-man’s bluff at the edge of a pool. All but one of the players can see exactly where the water begins, and the blindfolded one is dangerously close. “Take off the mask! Take off the mask!” the other players beg. “You’re too close to the edge!” But the blindfolded player tied his blindfold over his ears as well as his eyes, and no matter how loud his friends shout, he can’t understand them. They warned him not to cover his ears! They warned him that it was dangerous to cut off both sight and sound. But it was tempting — if he could catch someone without aid of sight or hearing; he would be the blind-man’s bluff champion! That’s not much consolation as he slips into the pool or as he walks with soaking wet sneakers and jeans. People who are set in their way veil themselves from the gospel. They don’t want this Jesus stuff to get in the way of their chance for earthly glory.2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Imagine the glory of God filling your heart, driving away all negative or painful thoughts and feelings. The apostle Paul never forgot the vision of the glory of God revealed in the face of Christ on the road to Damascus. This revelation powerfully changed his heart and his life forever. We need not long for visions of fiery chariots and shining robes to take note of our own call to faithfulness. Paul and his fellow workers do not lose heart. Those who have rejected the good news of Christianity are running from God. To those individuals, the gospel is veiled, but by their own choice, not God’s. They have chosen worldly gods and want nothing else. Paul and his workers preach Jesus Christ and not themselves or any other human authority. When we profess that Jesus is Lord and we are not, light comes from God through Christ. Saul of Tarsus recovered from his blindness to see the light of God through Christ. We understand that Jesus is the light that illumines history. Through Jesus, the light dawns on us so that we can actually love our neighbors as ourselves, warts and all.Mark 9:2-9 Nothing is more surprising than the rise of the new within ourselves. We do not foresee or observe its growth. We do not try to produce it by the strength of our will, by the power of our emotion, or by the clarity of our intellect. On the contrary, we feel that by trying to produce it we prevent its coming ... The new being is born in us, just when we least believe in it. It appears in remote corners of our souls that we have neglected for a long time. It opens up deep levels of our personality that had been shut out by old decisions and old exclusions. It shows a way where there was no way before.(from Paul Tillich, “I Am Doing a New Thing,” in The Shaking of the Foundations [New York: Scribner’s, 1948], p. 182)Mark 9:2-9 Pliny the Elder was a Roman writer who lived during the same time period as Jesus. He told a story of the setting of an obelisk, which when erect would stand 99 feet tall. Twenty thousand workers were chosen to pull on the ropes and activate the hoisting apparatus. There was great responsibility and risk in the operation. Just one error could cause the obelisk to fall, ruining years of work. The king demanded one act that insured the complete attention and best direction of the engineer. He ordered the engineer’s own son to be strapped to the apex of the obelisk, so that his heart as well as his head would be given to the task. (from Pulpit Helps, August, 1992, p. 14)Mark 9:2-9 A new church was started with the hope of attracting young people in their twenties and thirties. The new church tries to avoid the cultural wars that many churches fall into and instead focus on following Jesus. “It’s not about how you look, or keeping the rules,” Shawn explains. “It’s about a serious following.” The new congregation meets in an established downtown church that fifty years ago had 500 people in worship but today has only seventy. The pastor of the new church discovered something he had not expected. Many of the young people who attend worship have a new appreciation for the beauty of the old gothic sanctuary. They recall attending worship with their parents in non-descript buildings, gymnasiums, or auditoriums. Worshiping in the sanctuary gives them a sense of the holy. They are in a holy place where people have worshiped for over 150 years. One young person commented on the smell of the sanctuary filled with wooden pews. A young woman appreciates the stained-glass windows, which depict various aspects of Jesus’ life. The pastor and leaders of this new church had not expected such a response; they were simply looking for a place to meet. Being in the sanctuary had a transforming effect on the young worshipers. They felt drawn into the holy. Perhaps that was the same experience of the disciples Peter, James, and John. They thought they were spending some time alone with Jesus when suddenly Jesus’ appearance changed before their eyes. They witnessed Jesus conversing with Old Testament heroes of faith, Elijah and Moses. They heard the voice of God thunder from the clouds. Although Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone, this experience changed not only the way they viewed Jesus but also their own personal lives as well.Mark 2:2-9 On June 11, 1962, three men went through the roof, only not down through the roof, but up. The three men weren’t trying to get to Jesus, although ironically enough, they may have done just that. No, the three men, John Anglin, Clarence Anglin, and Frank Morris, went through the roof of Alcatraz, made their way to the water’s edge, and launched homemade rubber boats in an attempt to escape custody. To this day, they have not been found. Authorities are not sure if they drowned in the strong currents and cold water, or if they made good on their escape plan. But determined they were. They began planning their escape in December 1961, by painstakingly drilling holes around their air vents that allowed them to remove the vents and enter the ventilation system. Once in the system, they made their way to a makeshift workshop where they used stolen raincoats to fashion a rubber boat and safety jackets. The men who let the crippled man down through the roof to Jesus were also determined. But they wanted to get in, not out.