THE THIRD MIDWEEK SERVICE
Worship
The Word Has Come Down
Six Midweek Monologues and Services for Lent
Object:
The Witness of Caiaphas, High Priest
John 11:44-53; Matthew 26:57-66
Opening Hymn
"In the Cross of Christ I Glory"
The Witness
You'd think I would be past all of this. After all, if a person is the high priest, he should be able to make an assessment and stick by it. Usually I can, but not this time. All the way around, this time was different. I didn't think so at first. He seemed like just another troublemaker. He had all the characteristics: the ability to attract the big crowds with the flashy miracles and the charismatic personality. People I trust kept telling me that there was more to this one. But I figured it was just wishful thinking.
After all, people had started to claim that he was the Messiah finally come. Who wouldn't want to believe that? But, I'm afraid that for those of us who just barely manage to believe in the promise of the coming Messiah at all, it's a bit of a stretch to imagine that God would send his Anointed One in the person of a poor, ignorant man from the hill country or into this traitorous generation. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, though. Even more than that, for one fleeting moment I let myself wonder... and I have to tell you, for that one moment, I felt like my world was turning upside down.
I don't even think it had as much to do with the fact that I wanted to believe in him as it had to do with the amount of energy I had expended with regard to him. You see, I have never condoned murder of any kind in my whole life. But, you'd really have to understand what we've been up against here. We have been striving to live as faithful Jews in a country in which striving to live as a faithful Jew is considered a waste of time because it doesn't get you anywhere with Rome. So all we have tried to do is strike a happy medium. We have continued to obey our God, despite the consequences to our income level, our social prestige, and even our personal safety. We have known that in order to continue God's work, we would need to keep from causing Rome trouble. Not that they care who or what we worship, they just want the tax money to keep flowing. And of course, this is something that this country rube, this Jesus person, was not sophisticated enough to understand. As I say, I am not one to ever condone murder, but we gave this guy warning after warning. For three years, we asked him to watch what he said, to keep from undermining the elders and the priests, to stop giving Rome ammunition, but he would not listen. He continued to threaten our already-shaky relationship with Rome. So, it came down to a choice, either we shut him up, or we let Rome shut the synagogues down. And that was no choice.
In the face of our sacred duty, to prevent the death of 2,000 years of devotion, of tradition, of remembrance, one life seemed a small price to be paid. The price didn't feel small that night. I found myself hoping that he was the Messiah. I almost begged him to say that he was. But he just stood there. When he finally did speak, it didn't make any sense. What he said was guaranteed to send him to the cross. I knew then that he was just another crazy out for his moment in the sun. But at that same moment, I felt my faith in the coming Messiah vanish.
Opening Prayer
Pastor: Let us pray:
Congregation: One and only God, in you alone do we place our trust, or at least try to. Forgive us, Savior God, when we place more trust in the fleeting, false, and finite things of this world than we do in the love that broke down the gates of death. Break our habit of clinging to that which is second best when you are extending to us that which is eternal and the very best. In the name of your Son, we pray. Amen.
Arrogance
A Reading
Isaiah 2:12-19
A Meditation
Arrogance. From the Latin, this word means to "not ask." Rogo means to ask, as in interrogate and in many cases, the addition of the letter "a" in front of another Latin word makes it a negative. There are few better examples of arrogance than Caiaphas. And that arrogance is part of the reason he held the position he did.
A quick look around at our society and its leadership will tell you that it takes tough skin to survive as a leader these days. Not just political but all kinds of leaders: teachers, bosses, parents, pastors all field criticism. Maybe they always did. As high priest, Caiaphas outranked just about every other religious or political leader, and this had to be particularly difficult time to rule as a Jew. Jews were not in charge. They were given the illusion of sovereignty.
It would be like living in any of the former Yugoslavian countries during the Soviet era. In many cases, these countries were given the illusion of control but not only were the really important decisions made by Russians, the really good, important, and lucrative jobs were reserved for Russians, even if they were working in what was called Belarus, the Ukraine, or something else.
This is the same thing the Jews faced in Caiaphas' day. Any Jewish tradition and reading of what we call the Old Testament, any prayers made to our God were made possible by Caiaphas and people like them. All in all, Caiaphas must have been a pretty impressive guy. And let's face it, he has some pretty compelling reasons to be arrogant.
First of all, he must not appear to be weak, which he would were he to appear not to know all the answers. Any sign of weakness would have caused Rome concern. Plus, he must not second guess himself. No leader in his position could afford to doubt his decisions, at least publicly. Any parent knows that.
Well, in Caiaphas' case, multiply that pressure by 50,000 and we get some idea of the pressure he was under. But we see from our readings, he does ask questions, but we also see that his questions are more like accusations. We also see something else in his statements. We see fleeting and nearly unrecognizable hope.
Pastor: Let us pray:
Congregation: Father above, you are and always have been far beyond our understanding. Help us to live in fearful joy within the bounds of our lack of understanding because of your blessing of faith. Forgive us when we cease to trust you or consider you someone with whom we need only reckon at our deaths. Rather give us the courage to approach you day by day, moment by moment. In the name of your Son, we pray. Amen.
Primitive Hymn Isaac Watts to tune of "O God Our Help in Ages Past"
I'm not ashamed to own my Lord,
Or to defend His cause;
Maintain the honor of His Word,
The glory of His cross.
Jesus, my God! I know his Name,
his Name is all my trust;
Nor will he put my soul to shame,
Nor let my hope be lost.
Firm as his throne his promise stands,
And he can well secure
What I've committed to his hands
Till the decisive hour.
Then will he own my worthless name
Before his Father's face,
And in the new Jerusalem
Appoint my soul a place.
Contradiction
A Reading
Luke 11:37-44
A Meditation
Contradiction is another word that we can understand more completely by taking it apart. Literally, it means words against. Dict meaning word as in dictionary and contra as in against. I thought of this work when I looked at the statements Caiaphas made to and regarding Jesus. Both these statements are used by God.
The first is a prophecy as John tells us, but Caiaphas thinks of it as a surgical removal of a dangerous element. Even the way he states it makes me believe this was not a decision with which he was comfortable. He says, "Don't you know it is better for one person to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed?" But before he says that he becomes angry because the people around him do not understand the stakes. It seems that they are more worried about their own following… worried that the people will follow Jesus and not them. Only Caiaphas sees the stakes as they are. What a contradiction. Kill someone to save the lives of others. But when you look at it, Caiaphas' life, in fact the lives of all the leaders in Israel, must have seemed like a contradiction.
Defending Judaism by placating the Romans. Why should this surprise us? Aren't our lives a lot of the times, just the same? Don't we find ourselves trying to placate the world, trying to look like the rest of the world? And it will get worse and worse. All of the reasons people used to come to church are no longer in force. For years, going to church made you look good. For years, going to church was a good way to get ahead in business. What a contradiction that was. Now, those of us who go to church come because we have no choice in the matter. Or rather, we have decided to have no choice in the matter. Church is now the place at which we feel the most direct link to God. We need to rid ourselves of the contradictions. The other statement Caiaphas made comes at the very end of our text.
We need no more witnesses. I think that he was crushingly disappointed by what must have seemed to him to be Jesus' blasphemous response. He decided to put aside any concerns he had and defend what he knew. And Jesus died.
Pastor: Let us pray:
Congregation: Lord, when we face our confusing and perplexing world, help us to remember that you have claimed us. When we feel the need to find our footing anywhere but in your love, defend us from our own foolishness. In the name of your Son, we pray. Amen.
Self-Satisfaction
A Reading
Luke 18:9-14
A Meditation
Self-Satisfaction. In every case I have ever seen or personally experienced, self-satisfaction could more appropriately be the second step to self-destruction. The first step is self-delusion. We have already seen Caiaphas do just that. The moment he sold his soul to Rome, his trust in Yahweh vanished. He had knelt down to an idol as surely as his ancestors did when they bowed down to the golden calf in the desert. We see the smug way he sends Jesus to his death, and we realize he is not really even worshiping Rome. He is worshiping the same god we all worship on a regular basis, whether we are Christians, Moslems, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, or agnostics. He was worshiping not so much himself, but his own safety. When we do that, when we decide to save our money and not share it with the needy, when we opt to go bowling instead of giving blood, when we decide to catch up on work at the house instead of helping to clean the church, we are protecting ourselves. We are protecting our futures through our financial stability, our social standing, or our family happiness. God wants us to be happy and safe. But God wants us to understand what real safety is. Safety is understanding that we live our lives knowing that heaven is our home. This means there is nothing we need to hang onto. To do anything else is to believe that we have control over our lives. Such an attitude is self-delusion. The only way to keep a delusion alive is to feed it. That is what Caiaphas did.
First of all, if you will notice, he asked his colleagues: What do you think? Now, why should the high priest do such a thing? Why would the high priest have to ask? I thought he was arrogant. Well, probably he thought it was a rhetorical question needing no answer. I think he was probably feeding his own self-delusion until it became self-satisfaction. With that, he denied himself Jesus' intervention in his life and sent himself down the path of self-destruction. We must never deny ourselves Jesus. We must do whatever it takes to ask, to trust, and to rejoice.
Offering
The Prayers of the People
The Lord's Prayer
Closing Hymn
"O Sacred Head, Now Wounded"
John 11:44-53; Matthew 26:57-66
Opening Hymn
"In the Cross of Christ I Glory"
The Witness
You'd think I would be past all of this. After all, if a person is the high priest, he should be able to make an assessment and stick by it. Usually I can, but not this time. All the way around, this time was different. I didn't think so at first. He seemed like just another troublemaker. He had all the characteristics: the ability to attract the big crowds with the flashy miracles and the charismatic personality. People I trust kept telling me that there was more to this one. But I figured it was just wishful thinking.
After all, people had started to claim that he was the Messiah finally come. Who wouldn't want to believe that? But, I'm afraid that for those of us who just barely manage to believe in the promise of the coming Messiah at all, it's a bit of a stretch to imagine that God would send his Anointed One in the person of a poor, ignorant man from the hill country or into this traitorous generation. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, though. Even more than that, for one fleeting moment I let myself wonder... and I have to tell you, for that one moment, I felt like my world was turning upside down.
I don't even think it had as much to do with the fact that I wanted to believe in him as it had to do with the amount of energy I had expended with regard to him. You see, I have never condoned murder of any kind in my whole life. But, you'd really have to understand what we've been up against here. We have been striving to live as faithful Jews in a country in which striving to live as a faithful Jew is considered a waste of time because it doesn't get you anywhere with Rome. So all we have tried to do is strike a happy medium. We have continued to obey our God, despite the consequences to our income level, our social prestige, and even our personal safety. We have known that in order to continue God's work, we would need to keep from causing Rome trouble. Not that they care who or what we worship, they just want the tax money to keep flowing. And of course, this is something that this country rube, this Jesus person, was not sophisticated enough to understand. As I say, I am not one to ever condone murder, but we gave this guy warning after warning. For three years, we asked him to watch what he said, to keep from undermining the elders and the priests, to stop giving Rome ammunition, but he would not listen. He continued to threaten our already-shaky relationship with Rome. So, it came down to a choice, either we shut him up, or we let Rome shut the synagogues down. And that was no choice.
In the face of our sacred duty, to prevent the death of 2,000 years of devotion, of tradition, of remembrance, one life seemed a small price to be paid. The price didn't feel small that night. I found myself hoping that he was the Messiah. I almost begged him to say that he was. But he just stood there. When he finally did speak, it didn't make any sense. What he said was guaranteed to send him to the cross. I knew then that he was just another crazy out for his moment in the sun. But at that same moment, I felt my faith in the coming Messiah vanish.
Opening Prayer
Pastor: Let us pray:
Congregation: One and only God, in you alone do we place our trust, or at least try to. Forgive us, Savior God, when we place more trust in the fleeting, false, and finite things of this world than we do in the love that broke down the gates of death. Break our habit of clinging to that which is second best when you are extending to us that which is eternal and the very best. In the name of your Son, we pray. Amen.
Arrogance
A Reading
Isaiah 2:12-19
A Meditation
Arrogance. From the Latin, this word means to "not ask." Rogo means to ask, as in interrogate and in many cases, the addition of the letter "a" in front of another Latin word makes it a negative. There are few better examples of arrogance than Caiaphas. And that arrogance is part of the reason he held the position he did.
A quick look around at our society and its leadership will tell you that it takes tough skin to survive as a leader these days. Not just political but all kinds of leaders: teachers, bosses, parents, pastors all field criticism. Maybe they always did. As high priest, Caiaphas outranked just about every other religious or political leader, and this had to be particularly difficult time to rule as a Jew. Jews were not in charge. They were given the illusion of sovereignty.
It would be like living in any of the former Yugoslavian countries during the Soviet era. In many cases, these countries were given the illusion of control but not only were the really important decisions made by Russians, the really good, important, and lucrative jobs were reserved for Russians, even if they were working in what was called Belarus, the Ukraine, or something else.
This is the same thing the Jews faced in Caiaphas' day. Any Jewish tradition and reading of what we call the Old Testament, any prayers made to our God were made possible by Caiaphas and people like them. All in all, Caiaphas must have been a pretty impressive guy. And let's face it, he has some pretty compelling reasons to be arrogant.
First of all, he must not appear to be weak, which he would were he to appear not to know all the answers. Any sign of weakness would have caused Rome concern. Plus, he must not second guess himself. No leader in his position could afford to doubt his decisions, at least publicly. Any parent knows that.
Well, in Caiaphas' case, multiply that pressure by 50,000 and we get some idea of the pressure he was under. But we see from our readings, he does ask questions, but we also see that his questions are more like accusations. We also see something else in his statements. We see fleeting and nearly unrecognizable hope.
Pastor: Let us pray:
Congregation: Father above, you are and always have been far beyond our understanding. Help us to live in fearful joy within the bounds of our lack of understanding because of your blessing of faith. Forgive us when we cease to trust you or consider you someone with whom we need only reckon at our deaths. Rather give us the courage to approach you day by day, moment by moment. In the name of your Son, we pray. Amen.
Primitive Hymn Isaac Watts to tune of "O God Our Help in Ages Past"
I'm not ashamed to own my Lord,
Or to defend His cause;
Maintain the honor of His Word,
The glory of His cross.
Jesus, my God! I know his Name,
his Name is all my trust;
Nor will he put my soul to shame,
Nor let my hope be lost.
Firm as his throne his promise stands,
And he can well secure
What I've committed to his hands
Till the decisive hour.
Then will he own my worthless name
Before his Father's face,
And in the new Jerusalem
Appoint my soul a place.
Contradiction
A Reading
Luke 11:37-44
A Meditation
Contradiction is another word that we can understand more completely by taking it apart. Literally, it means words against. Dict meaning word as in dictionary and contra as in against. I thought of this work when I looked at the statements Caiaphas made to and regarding Jesus. Both these statements are used by God.
The first is a prophecy as John tells us, but Caiaphas thinks of it as a surgical removal of a dangerous element. Even the way he states it makes me believe this was not a decision with which he was comfortable. He says, "Don't you know it is better for one person to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed?" But before he says that he becomes angry because the people around him do not understand the stakes. It seems that they are more worried about their own following… worried that the people will follow Jesus and not them. Only Caiaphas sees the stakes as they are. What a contradiction. Kill someone to save the lives of others. But when you look at it, Caiaphas' life, in fact the lives of all the leaders in Israel, must have seemed like a contradiction.
Defending Judaism by placating the Romans. Why should this surprise us? Aren't our lives a lot of the times, just the same? Don't we find ourselves trying to placate the world, trying to look like the rest of the world? And it will get worse and worse. All of the reasons people used to come to church are no longer in force. For years, going to church made you look good. For years, going to church was a good way to get ahead in business. What a contradiction that was. Now, those of us who go to church come because we have no choice in the matter. Or rather, we have decided to have no choice in the matter. Church is now the place at which we feel the most direct link to God. We need to rid ourselves of the contradictions. The other statement Caiaphas made comes at the very end of our text.
We need no more witnesses. I think that he was crushingly disappointed by what must have seemed to him to be Jesus' blasphemous response. He decided to put aside any concerns he had and defend what he knew. And Jesus died.
Pastor: Let us pray:
Congregation: Lord, when we face our confusing and perplexing world, help us to remember that you have claimed us. When we feel the need to find our footing anywhere but in your love, defend us from our own foolishness. In the name of your Son, we pray. Amen.
Self-Satisfaction
A Reading
Luke 18:9-14
A Meditation
Self-Satisfaction. In every case I have ever seen or personally experienced, self-satisfaction could more appropriately be the second step to self-destruction. The first step is self-delusion. We have already seen Caiaphas do just that. The moment he sold his soul to Rome, his trust in Yahweh vanished. He had knelt down to an idol as surely as his ancestors did when they bowed down to the golden calf in the desert. We see the smug way he sends Jesus to his death, and we realize he is not really even worshiping Rome. He is worshiping the same god we all worship on a regular basis, whether we are Christians, Moslems, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, or agnostics. He was worshiping not so much himself, but his own safety. When we do that, when we decide to save our money and not share it with the needy, when we opt to go bowling instead of giving blood, when we decide to catch up on work at the house instead of helping to clean the church, we are protecting ourselves. We are protecting our futures through our financial stability, our social standing, or our family happiness. God wants us to be happy and safe. But God wants us to understand what real safety is. Safety is understanding that we live our lives knowing that heaven is our home. This means there is nothing we need to hang onto. To do anything else is to believe that we have control over our lives. Such an attitude is self-delusion. The only way to keep a delusion alive is to feed it. That is what Caiaphas did.
First of all, if you will notice, he asked his colleagues: What do you think? Now, why should the high priest do such a thing? Why would the high priest have to ask? I thought he was arrogant. Well, probably he thought it was a rhetorical question needing no answer. I think he was probably feeding his own self-delusion until it became self-satisfaction. With that, he denied himself Jesus' intervention in his life and sent himself down the path of self-destruction. We must never deny ourselves Jesus. We must do whatever it takes to ask, to trust, and to rejoice.
Offering
The Prayers of the People
The Lord's Prayer
Closing Hymn
"O Sacred Head, Now Wounded"
