New Beginnings
Commentary
Sometimes all our talk about Lent would lead one to think our major Lenten task is to look backward. We are, some imagine, to consider our past, evaluate what we have done and who we have been, and be heavy-hearted with repentance and a willingness to make amends.
I suppose such a discipline can be helpful but it seems to me, in any case, it is only step one of what really ought to be taking place in our lives.
I am convinced God is not so much interested in diagnosis, explanations, justifications, and the like as he is in new beginnings.
Take the story we call the Prodigal Son, for instance. The son comes home ready to explain, repent, and make amends. He begins by blurting it all out to his father. What interests me is the father seems not to hear. The next word is "but." Now read on. The father is not interested in groveling, or the heaping up of amends.
The God Jesus talks about stands looking longingly for us and, when we come home, he grabs us, puts his arm around us, and says, "Where do we go from here?"
He is not the judge, not the weighman sorting through our lives. He is the one who offers new things, second chances, new beginnings, and an opportunity to follow his upward call.
OUTLINE I
Lenten Opportunities
Isaiah 43:16-21
Introduction:Once again, I suggest this Scripture be placed in historical and scriptural context. Chapters 40-55 are exilic and bring word to a people in despair and needing a word of hope. The text breaks easily into three parts.
1. Remembrance: (43:16-17) The reference here is to the Exodus from Egypt some 1000 years before. The message is clear: if their God could deliver their enslaved ancestors from the hand of the Egyptians, he surely can deliver them from Babylon.
2. Anticipation: (43:18-20) Yahweh is always out in front of his people. While they wander in the wilderness, stir in the dust of captivity, linger at holy places, he is always going ahead of them, calling them, and seeking to keep them on the move. The new thing he will do is their future.
3. Response: (43:21) Those who remember his great deeds in the past and know of the surety of his promises for the future are called to a life of praise and thanksgiving. That praise is not meant just to make God feel good, but it is to be his gift to the recipients of his grace. It is because they are made whole, brought home, given new life. Out of that comes praise.
Conclusion: Apply these three movements to the life of your hearers. Recall the past, anticipate the future, and then encourage a response of praise.
OUTLINE II
A Deeper Look
John 12:1-8
Introduction:Who knows what to do with such a selection? Written some ninety years after the event, it takes on a somber note as it seeks to characterize Judas as a thief, from the beginning. Who knows whether that was true, or whether he was, as some suggest, a disappointed zealot who tried to force Jesus hand and, having misunderstood, assisted in his death. Discuss it with your congregation.
1. A Bright Moment: Mary anoints his feet. No doubt this was a normal thing to do when it first happened. Hospitality demanded some refreshment of guests who had come in off the dusty road. By the way, note the contrast with the Matthew story (Matthew 26:6-13) and Mark 14:3-9. Luke, always the humanist, inserts the words, "who was a sinner." Was she one forgiven and set on a new life by Jesus? Was this her act of gratitude as well as hospitality?
2. A Deeper Look: John always writes on two levels. He tells what is happening and he reveals a deeper note. Here Jesus says something different from what is said in Matthew and Mark. Rather than saying the ointment is his anointing for burial, he asks that she be allowed to keep it for the day of his burial. Something more than hospitality or foreknowledge is discovered here. This is a word that says when they realize what has happened, then they will need the ointment.
Conclusion: Lent is sometimes heavy with the somber mood. All through the Gospels (remember they were written after the events) the cross casts its shadow. Joy and pathos mix. It is the way life is. Remind the congregation of that.
OUTLINE III
A Model for Lent
Philippians 3:8-14
Introduction:Many of us grew up with an understanding that when we had repented, cleaned up our lives, were measuring up fully, etc., then we could finally be called Christians. Unfortunately, when we were honest with ourselves we knew we never did meet standards. Therefore, we were always making justification. Paul turns the matter around.
1. Admission of the Truth: Paul begins where all of us ought to begin. He knows who and what he is. So do we. And, we are reminded it is okay to admit that ... of course ...
2. Next Step: Of course, we are not meant to just be pious or self-justifying and let it go at that. We are to take the next step and pursue the goal of perfection, even though it is always receding. And the motive is there. Jesus has already claimed us, made us his own and, out of gratitude, we are moved to respond with newness of life.
3. So:
a. Forget the Past: Don't rest on the good done, or spend all your time regretting the bad ...
b. Strain - Press On
Conclusion: Note the goal: the upward call. That means the target is not some static goal to be attained so we can sit down and glory in it. There is no resting place; no retirement date set. Forever the call will remain, and that call will require our all, as long as we live.
Isaiah 43:1-21
The Exodus of God's people from Egypt and their subsequent deliverance from many a danger is one of the great stories of all time. We make a mistake, however, when we tell the story as either literal historical narrative or as totally fictional myth. The Exodus story is a witness to the historic fact of God's miraculous and mysterious intervention. You might even say it is a kind of parable. To interpret it otherwise is to, perhaps, miss the true meaning.
One Sunday, a father asked his son what he had learned in church school that morning. "The teacher told us about the Exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea." "What did she say?" "She told us Moses had his engineering corp build a pontoon bridge across the Red Sea. She said that after the children of Israel were safely on the other side, the Egyptian army tried to follow in the chariots. But Moses sent back some fighter bombers to blow the bridge up, and the children of Israel were safe!" "Now, come on, Johnny; teacher didn't really say that!" "No," confessed Johnny, "but the way she told it nobody would have believed it!"
Do we tell the story in such a way that nobody would believe it? Or do we simply say, "In some miraculous and wonderful way, God delivered his people from danger! The same God lives today and is still able to deliver his children."
I suppose such a discipline can be helpful but it seems to me, in any case, it is only step one of what really ought to be taking place in our lives.
I am convinced God is not so much interested in diagnosis, explanations, justifications, and the like as he is in new beginnings.
Take the story we call the Prodigal Son, for instance. The son comes home ready to explain, repent, and make amends. He begins by blurting it all out to his father. What interests me is the father seems not to hear. The next word is "but." Now read on. The father is not interested in groveling, or the heaping up of amends.
The God Jesus talks about stands looking longingly for us and, when we come home, he grabs us, puts his arm around us, and says, "Where do we go from here?"
He is not the judge, not the weighman sorting through our lives. He is the one who offers new things, second chances, new beginnings, and an opportunity to follow his upward call.
OUTLINE I
Lenten Opportunities
Isaiah 43:16-21
Introduction:Once again, I suggest this Scripture be placed in historical and scriptural context. Chapters 40-55 are exilic and bring word to a people in despair and needing a word of hope. The text breaks easily into three parts.
1. Remembrance: (43:16-17) The reference here is to the Exodus from Egypt some 1000 years before. The message is clear: if their God could deliver their enslaved ancestors from the hand of the Egyptians, he surely can deliver them from Babylon.
2. Anticipation: (43:18-20) Yahweh is always out in front of his people. While they wander in the wilderness, stir in the dust of captivity, linger at holy places, he is always going ahead of them, calling them, and seeking to keep them on the move. The new thing he will do is their future.
3. Response: (43:21) Those who remember his great deeds in the past and know of the surety of his promises for the future are called to a life of praise and thanksgiving. That praise is not meant just to make God feel good, but it is to be his gift to the recipients of his grace. It is because they are made whole, brought home, given new life. Out of that comes praise.
Conclusion: Apply these three movements to the life of your hearers. Recall the past, anticipate the future, and then encourage a response of praise.
OUTLINE II
A Deeper Look
John 12:1-8
Introduction:Who knows what to do with such a selection? Written some ninety years after the event, it takes on a somber note as it seeks to characterize Judas as a thief, from the beginning. Who knows whether that was true, or whether he was, as some suggest, a disappointed zealot who tried to force Jesus hand and, having misunderstood, assisted in his death. Discuss it with your congregation.
1. A Bright Moment: Mary anoints his feet. No doubt this was a normal thing to do when it first happened. Hospitality demanded some refreshment of guests who had come in off the dusty road. By the way, note the contrast with the Matthew story (Matthew 26:6-13) and Mark 14:3-9. Luke, always the humanist, inserts the words, "who was a sinner." Was she one forgiven and set on a new life by Jesus? Was this her act of gratitude as well as hospitality?
2. A Deeper Look: John always writes on two levels. He tells what is happening and he reveals a deeper note. Here Jesus says something different from what is said in Matthew and Mark. Rather than saying the ointment is his anointing for burial, he asks that she be allowed to keep it for the day of his burial. Something more than hospitality or foreknowledge is discovered here. This is a word that says when they realize what has happened, then they will need the ointment.
Conclusion: Lent is sometimes heavy with the somber mood. All through the Gospels (remember they were written after the events) the cross casts its shadow. Joy and pathos mix. It is the way life is. Remind the congregation of that.
OUTLINE III
A Model for Lent
Philippians 3:8-14
Introduction:Many of us grew up with an understanding that when we had repented, cleaned up our lives, were measuring up fully, etc., then we could finally be called Christians. Unfortunately, when we were honest with ourselves we knew we never did meet standards. Therefore, we were always making justification. Paul turns the matter around.
1. Admission of the Truth: Paul begins where all of us ought to begin. He knows who and what he is. So do we. And, we are reminded it is okay to admit that ... of course ...
2. Next Step: Of course, we are not meant to just be pious or self-justifying and let it go at that. We are to take the next step and pursue the goal of perfection, even though it is always receding. And the motive is there. Jesus has already claimed us, made us his own and, out of gratitude, we are moved to respond with newness of life.
3. So:
a. Forget the Past: Don't rest on the good done, or spend all your time regretting the bad ...
b. Strain - Press On
Conclusion: Note the goal: the upward call. That means the target is not some static goal to be attained so we can sit down and glory in it. There is no resting place; no retirement date set. Forever the call will remain, and that call will require our all, as long as we live.
Isaiah 43:1-21
The Exodus of God's people from Egypt and their subsequent deliverance from many a danger is one of the great stories of all time. We make a mistake, however, when we tell the story as either literal historical narrative or as totally fictional myth. The Exodus story is a witness to the historic fact of God's miraculous and mysterious intervention. You might even say it is a kind of parable. To interpret it otherwise is to, perhaps, miss the true meaning.
One Sunday, a father asked his son what he had learned in church school that morning. "The teacher told us about the Exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea." "What did she say?" "She told us Moses had his engineering corp build a pontoon bridge across the Red Sea. She said that after the children of Israel were safely on the other side, the Egyptian army tried to follow in the chariots. But Moses sent back some fighter bombers to blow the bridge up, and the children of Israel were safe!" "Now, come on, Johnny; teacher didn't really say that!" "No," confessed Johnny, "but the way she told it nobody would have believed it!"
Do we tell the story in such a way that nobody would believe it? Or do we simply say, "In some miraculous and wonderful way, God delivered his people from danger! The same God lives today and is still able to deliver his children."
