Friday, March 25, 2016

His Love is Our Strength

SERMON
Good Friday - March 25, 2016
Christ Church, St. Michael's Parish

As baptized Christians we are accountable to an intentional way of thinking; an intentional way of behaving; an intentional way of living that is directed by Christ within us and Christ with us. Our baptismal anointing calls us to seek Christ, in ourselves and in others, continually, as we travel into the world to abolish darkness and despair.

Just a few short weeks ago, in my Christmas Day sermon, I marveled at God’s amazing gift, saying:

“This Christmas Day, I pray that you will be thrilled by the presence of the angel of the Lord. I pray that the command to “go and see” will ring loud in your ears and that you will, with the eyes of your heart, visit Bethlehem and experience the joy and hope of gazing at the infant child – the baby Jesus. I pray that you will be re-invigorated – re-energized – in your call as a member of the Christ Church community to go into the world and to spread the Good News.”

That was a sermon filled with excitement, joy, and hope. It was a sermon that called people to be thrilled by the presence of the angel of God. It was a sermon that emphasized God’s “amazing gift.” It was a sermon that called us to experience, in every sense of the word, the very real presence of the incarnate Jesus in our lives. It was a sermon that called us to action – the action of “going and seeing” with the goal of being thrilled, amazed, joyous, re-invigorated, re-energized, and renewed in our life as disciples of Jesus.
  
In the ensuing weeks, as post-modern disciples, we watched and listened as Jesus was baptized, and as he began his journey from the river Jordon to Jerusalem and
the cross. We watched and listened to Jesus teach and heal. We came to know him as: 
·        The bread of life – The one who spiritually sustains us.
·        The light of the world – The one through whom we gain spiritual understanding and wisdom for living.
·        The gate – The one who has given us free and unlimited access to the Kingdom of God.
·        The good shepherd – The one who gives his life for those who follow him.
·        The resurrection and the life – The one who has guaranteed our eternal life with God.
·        The way, the truth, and the life – The one who shows us the way of life.
·        The vine – The one without whom we cannot sustain ourselves in his way of life.

Luke summarizes Jesus’ impact on the world with staggering simplicity, “The blind receive their sight, the lame walk. Lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up. The poor have good news preached to them.” (Luke 7:22)

And now, we stand at the foot of the cross, stunned by the violence of the crucifixion and sensing, no not sensing but knowing, that without Jesus with us we are lost in a dark wilderness and filled with anxiety, fear, and despair. We stand at the foot of the cross grieving – deeply grieving.

What does this intense grieving moment of Good Friday teach us about our relationship with Jesus? Why does it matter?

This brief and deeply grief-filled moment at the foot of the cross is, I believe, pivotal to our lives as Christians. It is the moment in which we watch Jesus, in his incredible love for us, give his life - turn his life over - to the Father.  It is the moment in which Jesus’ love for us brings death to him while at the same time bringing freedom to us – freedom to “Love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our minds.  And, freedom to love our neighbors as ourselves.”  Freedom to love others as Jesus loved us, and continues to love us - Freedom to go out into the world in love as a light in the darkness.

To allow ourselves to experience this grief moment fully, quietly and prayerfully - to burn with the pain of its intensity- is critical. Without mourning the loss of Jesus - without this painful grieving moment - we will not have the passion, the energy, or the will to move forward into a way of life that reflects our identity as true Disciples of Christ. We must confront the deep pain of the present reality – Jesus not with us - mourn his

loss, understand the true love that led to his crucifixion if we are to find our way forward not in grief, but in love, into the world and with action that knows no fear – words and deeds that bring light into the darkness.

What is the importance of our relationship with Jesus? Just that – it is a relationship. It is a relationship founded by and grounded in the most profound form of love – agape - a love that endures sacrifice, hardship, and death on the cross – a love that is passionate in the face of injustice – a love that seeks to reconcile the world to God.
Through our baptism God has anointed us for the work of Christian ministry. In our baptismal anointing we are united with Christ and enabled, entrusted, and empowered to accomplish God's will as we discern it to be.
Jesus is our vine – our lifeblood; we are his branches – his offspring; his heirs left behind at the foot of the cross. He will be with us – always. We are to abide in him – to gain our strength through him - always.
Pope Leo I in the late Fifth Century in his Good Friday Sermon preached on this relationship, saying:

“…So my dear people, as we celebrate this profound mystery of our redemption, let us acknowledge the teaching of God’s Spirit, the glory we are called to share, and the hope into which we have entered. We must not allow the activities of our life to fill us with anxiety or pride, so that we are unable to strive with our
whole being to be conformed to the pattern of our Redeemer, and to walk in his way. He has achieved and suffered everything necessary for our salvation, so that the power which was in the Head might also be found in us, his body.”


This grieving moment at the foot of the cross will soon be over and we will be distracted by the excitement and joy of the resurrection. In this distraction, let us not forget the love that has been entrusted to us by the one who loved us beyond comprehension, and the one who loves us always.  AMEN

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