The Text: John 11:20-44
For You, Jesus Is the Resurrection and the Life
What do you value most about other members of your life? What do they value
most about you? What changes have you noticed in them? While some things
always stay the same in most of us, other parts of our character change over the
years.
In today’s Gospel we see how two sisters face a family tragedy differently, namely
the death of their brother Lazarus. The home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus was a
favourite place of retreat for our Lord. This family is referred to as His friends rather
than His disciples, a friendship Jesus deeply treasured. We’re told that “Jesus loved
Martha and her sister and Lazarus”. Even now and today, Christ’s love is both for
each of you individually and also as part of your families. He cares for you when
you face life’s tough times like serious illness and death.
The account of how two sisters faced a death in their family has given us Christians
immense help when death intrudes unexpectedly into our own lives. Here we see
how deeply our Saviour is affected by what happens to us. “Jesus wept” is often
called the shortest verse in the Bible. But at the same time it has become the
longest in terms of comfort for those of us who too weep over the death of a loved
one. We don’t find it easy, do we, to talk about death. Talk of it makes us
uncomfortable. We all know it’s out there somewhere for us, but we’re reluctant to
discuss our own death or that of anyone else before we have to do so.
We often think differently about death after we’ve had to face the death of a
family member for the first time. The Christian faith we share began as a death-
conquering belief. Jesus’ own death and resurrection has made all the difference.
To a world lacking any certain hope of life beyond death, the Christian Church
proclaimed the sure and certain hope of the resurrection unto life eternal through
Jesus Christ. Because Jesus wept over the death of Lazarus, we can say to those
who are crying their eyes out with grief: “It’s okay to cry. Keep on crying. Jesus cries
with you.”
Before Lazarus had died, his sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love
is sick.” What an insightful message. It focuses on Jesus’ love for Lazarus, telling Jesus
what’s upsetting them without telling Jesus what to do. In any crisis we need the
assurance of our Lord’s love for us, despite whatever tough or puzzling
circumstances we’re facing.
Next we’re told that Jesus delayed His trip to Mary and Martha’s home in Bethany
for two days. Our Lord’s timing often puzzles us. Often it seems as if He’s delaying His
response to our prayer petitions. Our Lord responds to our cries for help, but in His
own time and on His own terms. Even if Jesus had come to Lazarus’ home
immediately, Lazarus would have been dead for two days by the time Jesus
arrived. Today’s Gospel reassures you and me that Jesus cares for us more than we
could ever imagine. He says,
“’My ways are not your ways’ says the Lord (Isaiah 55:8).”
He cares for you by bringing you into a caring community where fellow Christians
can visit you when you’re unwell and pray for you. “For your sake” Jesus says, “I am
glad I was not there, so that you might believe (v15).” That is, believe that death
cannot be victorious over He who is “the Resurrection and the Life”. Jesus let
Lazarus die so that He could show Himself to us as the Lord over life and death.
Jesus challenges you and me to trust in His good plans for us and their positive
purpose which can often only be seen in hindsight.
A mother and father’s only daughter was playing on the front lawn of their corner
block home. Some young lads couldn’t’ make it around the corner in their car. The
girl was hit and killed. Her parents were inconsolable. At the time, they saw no
purpose in this terrible tragedy. But then they were asked to become foster parents
to some orphaned children. They came to see the hand of God in giving them the
joy of caring for these parentless children. As a result, the children they fostered
have grown up thanking God for their foster parents, who led them to Jesus.
Now when Martha heard that Jesus’ arrival was imminent, she went to meet Him.
We now see a changed Martha. Previously when Jesus was at their home she did
the meal preparation on her own, while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening to Him.
Martha now engages in a learning exercise with Jesus. Here we see how her faith
grows as she enters into a theological dialogue with Jesus. Martha is an active,
outgoing woman, who is less distracted by relational crises than is her sister Mary.
When Martha meets Jesus, she says to Him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother
would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask
of Him (John 11:21-22).” That Martha can still believe and give tribute to Jesus
despite His late arrival is evidence of the convincing power of Christ’s presence. She
clearly still hopes for much from Jesus. She refers to Jesus as Teacher to indicate her
willingness to be taught by Him.
Jesus delays in responding to our pleas in order to bring us a blessing. Jesus’ delay in
coming to Martha didn’t weaken her faith in Him. Her words “if only you had been
here” are an expression of how much she missed Jesus. She believes that her
brother will rise again on the Last Day. In response to this assertion, Jesus now gives
her His most comforting declaration. He says to her, “I am the Resurrection and the
Life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who
lives and believes in me will never die (11:25).”
These words from Jesus have brought us unsurpassed comfort and hope when
we’re dealing with death. Jesus wants Martha to see that new life, life lived in the
light of Easter is possible now, in the present, before we die. Jesus uses the presence
tense: “I am the Resurrection.” Christ, your contemporary, can enable you to live in
the light of Easter now. In Christ, there’s the true possibility of a richer, fuller now,
before we die.
Jesus points to His own Resurrection as the guarantee of what He says. In response,
Martha makes one of the greatest confessions of faith in the New Testament when
she says, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the One
coming into the world.” God grant that we too can enthusiastically respond
similarly to Martha. What astonishes us is that she responds to Jesus with these words
even before her brother returns to life! Despite her sister Mary’s slow response to
Jesus’ arrival, she’s still told the good news, “The Teacher [Jesus] is here and is
asking for you (v28).” Wonderful words! They could be written on the back of every
Church pew: “Jesus is here and asking for you.”
Mary is thrilled to know that Jesus wants her. When He sees her crying her heart out,
Jesus is deeply moved and visibly distressed. Then we’re told, “Jesus wept.” Seeing
the tears of those we love deeply rarely leaves us unaffected. Tears pour from our
eyes in order to keep our souls from falling apart. Jesus isn’t ashamed to weep with
us. His tears hallow our own tears. In the garden of Gethsemane on the night before
His own death, Jesus’ fear of death means that He can understand firsthand our
own fear of death and therefore help us when we too are afraid of death and
dying. We read in Hebrews 5:7, “In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers
and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the One who was able to save Him
from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission.”
“Amazing love, how can it be / that you, my Lord, should cry with me?”
Jesus wept because He shares the emotions of those He loves. He also wept
because He had come face to face with the impending reality of His own death.
Jesus gives us life that is stronger than death, but at the cost of His own life.
“Lazarus, come out”, Jesus calls with a loud voice. One day you too may hear your
Lord call you by name to enter the resurrection and the life that can never end. The
good news of the resurrection, Christ’s resurrection and our own resurrection makes
our mortality bearable. When we walk through ‘the valley of the shadow of death”,
Christ, the Good Shepherd, is there with us to comfort us, to strengthen us and to
console us as only He can.
Some of life’s greatest moments occur when we face death with Him who is “the
Resurrection and the Life.” Before Jesus raised Lazarus from his tomb, Jesus prayed
aloud in order to draw all who heard His prayer into the intimacy and confidence of
His relationship with His Father in heaven. Let us never forget that “Precious in the
Lord’s sight is the death of His faithful ones (Psalm 116:15).” Your Lord showed how
precious you are to Him by dying for you, dying with you, and by His eager desire to
share the Resurrection with you in His good time. Until then, remember that
“whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s (Romans 14:8).”
Amen.

The Text: John 9:1-41
Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
Today we are going to focus on our Gospel reading from John chapter 9:1-41 in
which we heard how Jesus healed the man born blind and how the Pharisees
investigated the healing. It concluded with Jesus speaking about our spiritual
blindness.
This story about Jesus healing the man born blind is a dramatic gospel presentation,
filled with heated exchanges and clever dialogue.
There is the dialogue between Jesus and his disciples, and Jesus and the blind man.
There is also the dialogue between the blind man and his parents, his neighbours
and even a divided group of Pharisees who wanted to condemn Jesus.
What makes this healing miracle stand out from the many other healing miracles
that Jesus performed is the fact that this blind man did not approach Jesus asking
for healing. Rather, Jesus approached him.
This blind man had been blind from birth. Jesus took pity on this man and on the
society that had to support him.
So Jesus gave to this man something that he had never experienced before – he
gave this blind man the ability to see!
Before we can understand what sight is, we must try to understand what it is to be
blind. Close your eyes for a moment. Now imagine how different life would be if
God had created people without eyes to see. Imagine if everyone was guided only
by the ability to touch, taste, smell and hear.
Without our eyes we have no way of comparing colour or light. Without eyes there
would be no such term as blind; for there would be nothing to compare blindness
with.
But the blind man in our Gospel reading certainly knew that he was blind. From the
time that he could understand speech his parents and friends probably told him
that he was blind. The blind man had no way of understanding sight – yet he
longed to be able to see. If he could see he would be able to stop begging and
start working. The ability to see would change his life.
So when Jesus came to the blind man, Jesus changed the life of the blind man
forever by giving him the ability to see.
When he was blind, he did not understand what it meant to be blind for he had
never experienced the ability to see. Once he was blind, but now he could see.
The reading gave us a detailed description of the healing: Jesus came to the blind
man. He took a handful of clay, spat on it and worked it in his hand. He then put it
on the blind man’s eyes and told him to go and wash in The Pool of Siloam (Si-lo-
am). He did this and amazingly he came back seeing.
With his new ability to see, he now understood what it meant to be previously blind.
Now he is able to see for the first time! It’s hard to imagine what that first moment
of sight would have been like!
He rushed to tell people of his new found sight. He told people whom he thought
were able to see clearly too!
He thought they would be so happy for him – that he could see like them! Instead,
they wanted to have little to do with him.
There seemed to be something different about the sight that Jesus had given to this
man compared to the sight of his family and friends.
The sight that Jesus gave was more than seeing in the ‘physical’ sense. Jesus also
gave him the ability to see in the ‘spiritual’ sense. He gave to this blind man the
ability to see spiritually – Now what might seeing spiritually mean?
Jesus gave the healed man the ability to identify that the person who healed him
was Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God; the one God promised to send to
be the saviour of the world.
To see spiritually is to see what God already sees. It is to see what God is doing!
Today, let’s call this spiritual seeing – spiritual vision.
The Pharisees had a real problem with this miracle because it had taken place on
the Sabbath – a day when no Jew could do anything that could be interpreted as
work.
So the Pharisees interrogated this man several times about who it was that healed
him. And each time the healed man was interrogated, his spiritual vision became
more focussed.
His explanation of who Jesus is became clearer. The healed man’s spiritual vision
became so focussed that he even boldly claimed to be a disciple of the one who
healed him. To this the Pharisees replied: ‘You are this fellow’s disciple! We are
disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we
don’t even know where he comes from.’
To this the healed man answered: ‘Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where
he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. Nobody has ever heard of opening the
eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’
But the Pharisees eyes were still blinded. And they could not recognise that the one
who healed the man was the Son of God. It was as if the Pharisees had been
blinded by their religion to the point where they could no longer recognise God at
work in this person’s life. They did not have spiritual vision.
Just like the blind man in our story and these Pharisees we are all born with spiritual
blindness. This is because sin is part of the world. Because of sin we are born into this
world without the ability to see spiritually. On our own we cannot see God or
recognise his works amongst us.
Because of sin none of us are born with spiritual vision.
God alone can give us such vision.
Through baptism God begins to grow our spiritual vision. He makes it possible that
we can see in ways that we could have never dreamed of. In our baptism God has
washed away our sin so that we may grow to see spiritually.
In Baptism God washes away our sin and sends us the Holy Spirit who gives us the
faith to see that God is with us – to see in the spirit that Jesus is our saviour – to see
that we will live with him forever in perfect relationship.
Spiritual vision allows us to be able to recognise our sin. Spiritual vision also allows us
to see how the crucified Jesus comes to us and gives us the forgiveness and the
new life that he has won for us. With Spiritual vision we can see that Jesus heals our
hurts and makes us whole. With spiritual vision we can see God at work in our lives
guiding us with his Holy Spirit until we arrive at our heavenly home.
Spiritual vision is very different to our physical vision. Often our physical vision
deteriorates with age. But our spiritual vision if cared for and nurtured can develop
with age.
This happens as we continue to receive God’s gifts to us. When I think of caring for
our physical vision: I remember the old saying: “Eat your carrots – that way you will
be able to see in the dark!” Yes our food helps us grow physically strong and
strengthen our physical vision.
But eating carrots and other healthy foods will not grow our spiritual vision! There are
other gifts God gives to grow our spiritual vision.
God gives us his written and spoken word and the Body and Blood of Christ that we
receive in his Holy Meal. Through these means the Holy Spirit is at work growing our
spiritual vision.
Spiritual vision allows us to see the world in a new light. It allows us to see the world
as God sees it. We can see and identify God with us and working through us to
others and others to us.
Spiritual vision helps us to celebrate what God is doing amongst us. With a healthy
spiritual vision we can see Jesus at work shaping our lives and the lives of those
around us. A healthy spiritual vision will enable us to see every person as special to
God. It will help us to value and respect, to love and to serve each other at the
point of their greatest need, just as Jesus has come to serve us according to our
need.
Ultimately a healthy spiritual vision leads us to worship Jesus as our Saviour. Those
who have a healthy spiritual vision are the ones who give glory to God by loving
and serving those around them.
As our spiritual vision matures and becomes more focussed we are able to boldly
proclaim the name of Jesus Christ crucified until he comes again. We will live in the
light and show our love for God by loving one another and turning away from sin.
God is growing our spiritual vision. The spiritual vision that he is growing in us will help
us see ourselves the way God sees us—forgiven, redeemed and healed by the
blood of Jesus. Our spiritual vision will help us see who Jesus is and what he has
done for us. With spiritual vision we will see his light, we will see our sin in a new light.
We will daily drown the old sinful nature and trust in Jesus alone. May this be true for
us all. Amen.

The text: John 4:5-42
5 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground
that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and
Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her,
“Give me a drink.” 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy
food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew,
ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in
common with Samaritans.)[a] 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift
of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would
have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The
woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep.
Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our
ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks
drank from it?” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water
will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give
them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them
a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him,
“Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep
coming here to draw water.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” 17 The
woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You
are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five
husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you
have said is true!” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a
prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you[b] say
that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus said
to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship
the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship
what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from
the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks
such as these to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that
Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will
proclaim all things to us.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I am he,[c] the one who is
speaking to you.”
27 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was
speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or,
“Why are you speaking with her?” 28 Then the woman left her water jar
and went back to the city. She said to the people, 29 “Come and see a
man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the
Messiah,[d] can he?” 30 They left the city and were on their way to him.
31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat
something.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not
know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has
brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do
the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. 35 Do you not say,
‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around
you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. 36 The reaper is
already receiving[e] wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that
sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds
true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which
you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into
their labour.”
39 Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the
woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” 40 So
when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them;
and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of
his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what
you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we
know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.”
Today’s Gospel reading this morning begins by telling us that Jesus had to pass
through Samaria to get to Galilee. This isn’t entirely true, at least not as we read it.
In fact, as Jesus was leaving Jerusalem, there was a well-worn path that all Jews
would take that went around Samaria, they’d walk this road so that they wouldn’t
have to pass through Samaria at all. Such was the animosity between Jews and
Samaritans that even being in the same region was taboo.
To put it in perspective, for Jesus’ disciples it would have felt like walking through the
roughest neighbourhood at night. No one wanted to be there. And yet we begin
this story with the statement in verse 3 that Jesus had to pass through Samaria.
What drove him there? Was it the people or person he would soon meet?
Jesus takes his disciples into Samaria and sends them to get food while he sits alone
at a well on the outskirts of the town.
In the heat of the day a woman comes, on her own, to draw water. The stage is
set.
It is a curious thing, this woman coming in the middle of the day. It would be normal
to draw water first thing, to prepare for the day’s work. It would be normal to draw
it in the cool morning. Practically speaking it does not make sense to come in the
middle of the day. Unless you want to avoid everyone.
This woman comes at a time when she knew she’d run into no one.
Now we need to be careful about jumping to a conclusion why. The story doesn’t
tell us. What we do know is this woman is ostracised from her community and
prefers the discomfort of the middle of the day, over against the discomfort of
being around others.
Already you can see a stark contrast in the setup of this story, to the previous one in
the gospel of John. In John 3, Nicodemus: a well to do, highly respected Jewish
man, a teacher, comes to Jesus wanting to speak with him. In John 4 we have an
unknown woman, a Samaritan and cut off from her community, surprised at Jesus
speaking to her.
This transition from John 3 to John 4 shows the breadth of the reach of the Gospel.
In most respects we have polarities in the two stories. The common factor is that
Jesus directs the conversation in both cases to where the person needs to be.
Let’s read the story:
A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”
Immediately the conventions are broken. She knew she should not talk to Jesus,
Jesus knew he had to talk to her. It stuns her, she effectively accuses Jesus of being
inappropriate. She says, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a
woman of Samaria?”
Jesus invites her to himself. She puts up a wall and he dismantles it. If you knew
who I was, you would have pursued me for a drink. You would have asked me, you
would let all your fear, shame, discomfort, fall away and you would have done the
unthinkable for the sake of the prize that I offer you.
And how does she answer this highly personal invitation and offer? She argues
theology What an amazing response!. You would not expect Jesus, after telling a
woman in her position to break every social convention, to be met with a debate
on buckets, the well and what the great-great-great-great, very great grandfather
did.
What’s she doing?
She’s deflecting. Jesus has offered her an amazing gift, but it opens her up to
vulnerability – can she be seen talking to, going to, a Jewish man in the middle of
the day? Isn’t it interesting how Nicodemus, in the last chapter, hid behind the
comradery of being a teacher and Jesus challenged his theology? In this story the
woman at the well wants to hide behind theology and Jesus calls her to an
uncomfortable familiarity.
She deflects the conversation but Jesus sees right through her. He is not here for a
theological debate, but to invite her to worship in spirit and truth. When she
deflects, Jesus brings it back.
You are looking for a drink, whoever drinks of the water I offer will never be thirsty
again. All of a sudden he’s not talking about water. He promises eternal life,
welling up from the soul. This invitation – a hazy telling of the gospel for sure – cuts
through and all of a sudden she is captivated. Is she sick of drawing water, is she
sick of working through her own broken world left on the outer, enduring life cut off
from community?
Jesus draws the conversation away from physical water to living water of the
presence of God.
In Jeremiah 2:13, The Lord himself paints this image for his people:
for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.
This is why we need to be careful about how we view this woman. She is not unlike
us – she is like us in so many ways. We all ‘drink’ of many things that leave us thirsty.
Which is as we listen to Jesus and Jeremiah means nothing other than forsaking
God and pursuing other gods. It is when we treat anything as if it has the power
meet our deepest needs, that we rob them of the good they can provide and
make them something they can never be – the thing that saves us.
Jesus calls himself the living water – the one who can truly quench our parched
souls, but we prefer to find the answer ourselves. It is the story of humanity: that we
continue to believe that we can earn true satisfaction; that our best efforts can
deliver what we know is missing. We may not be able to articulate exactly what
that gap is, but certainly we all have said at some point in our lives ‘if only…’ and
you can fill in the rest yourself… And once we have placed that unrealistic
expectation on anything in our lives, no matter how good that thing is it will never
truly satisfy. The more we want it to live up to our expectations, the greater our
failure will seem – it will only leave us thirsty for more.
That’s what happens when we live without grace. Jesus stands directly in contrast
to that. He has come to this Samaritan woman to divert her attention from meeting
her own needs and to draw deeply from him. She can never achieve for herself
that which Jesus is offering to her without cost. And whilst it’s the kind of thing you
can’t adequately describe in words, we can see the effect soon enough, by the
end of the story in fact. But we’re not there yet.
This is what Jesus means when he says that he is living water that will truly satisfy. He
will take the place of all these idols and he can meet our deepest need. And that’s
precisely what he offers the woman.
But just when she begins to get an appetite for this living water it seems like Jesus
completely changes the subject:
She says ‘give me this water’ Jesus says ‘go get your husband’.
How on earth do these two things go together? It would seem that Jesus jumps to
an illogical request. This discourse has more digressions than the average sermon!
Does this living water require a husband? Or has he hit the mark on the very thing
that this woman has chosen to try and fill her need?
‘Sir I don’t have husband.’
‘I know’ he responds, ‘you’ve had five and the man you’re now with isn’t.
And where does she go? Back to theology. “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.
Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place
where people ought to worship.”
He gets too close again, she pulls back. He knows! She changes the subject to
talking about the temples.
Now I don’t know about you, but if someone laid out in front of me a personal
history like that, my first thought would not be about places of worship. Her secrets
have been laid bare, will it hurt, and will it drive him away? Does the truth ever hurt
our chances with God? Does it ever drive him away? Jesus cannot truly satisfy until
he can reach to the depths of our human need and prove the power of his love in
the places where we doubt anyone ever could see and not reject us.
Instead Jesus offers a new way. “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.”
In the gospel of John, ‘The Hour’ is always pointing to the cross. Jesus promises this
woman living water, he delivers it to her, and the world, on a day when he thirsts,
when his mouth and his heart runs dry. The Samaritan woman, and we along with
her, receive a whole new life, with our deepest needs met by God himself because
Jesus took on the ultimate thirst of being separated from God.
And this promise hits the mark for this woman. Remember again how the story
starts? She comes out on her own, choosing the heat of the day over the
discomfort of being around people. How does the story end? Jesus tells her to get
her husband, she doesn’t. She gets the whole town! This woman who had had 5
husbands and now living with a man who wasn’t, runs back to the people she
wanted to avoid and declares: Come and see this man I met!
You can almost imagine people rolling their eyes, ‘here we go again’. But she is not
ashamed, she has a new message: Meet the man who told me everything I ever
did. Now let’s pause there for a moment. Is that true? Did Jesus recount her life
story? Of course not, but he reached into the most hidden place, the most tender
spot, the thing that caused her guilt or shame, the thing that led her to avoid
people.
And he met that place of bondage with grace and freedom. By ‘everything I ever
did’ she means ‘the things I wish people didn’t know’. But Jesus knew it and loved
her. It did not exclude her from the living water.
What does this mean?
It means we need not be afraid of God or being honest before him. The living water
fills those dry and barren places in us and brings life in him.
The change she experiences, that Jesus knew the worst in her and still blesses her,
transforms how she views herself. If Jesus knows and does not condemn her, than
she cannot condemn herself either. If Jesus does not condemn her, but sets her
free, then the opinions of others do not matter. By grace now she is not afraid of
people, but now cares for them. The same people she avoided because of their
opinions of her are the people she first goes to, to announce the messiah!
Jesus came to her and changed her life, he became the one who truly made her
whole and quenched her thirst. We receive the same grace from him too.
Let’s pray.

The Text: John 3:1-17

Nicodemus came because he wanted to make sense of the something. A
common question for the Pharisees in their theological discussion was; how and
when will we see the kingdom of God?
Given we are going to talk about things that we can’t understand by our own
reason perhaps you might consider some of the thing that don’t make sense to
you.
There are many things do not make sense to us!
Why are sheep so stupid? Why does my dog keep running away? Why does God
allow suffering? Why, why, why?
And then we come to the how’s.
How did God create the earth and is our modern science close to finding out? How
does a car work? How do computers work? How am I going to manage in this life?
Many of these things have perfectly legitimate answers, others just don’t make
sense.
Nicodemus wanted to make sense of something and it seems he only got more
confused. His question related, we can assume, to the kingdom of God. When and
where? When will the kingdom come? Where will the kingdom come?
He doesn’t come straight out and ask Jesus this but Jesus pre-empts his question
and sees through his preliminaries to get straight to the point. Nicodemus doesn’t
even get a question out – only a comment about Jesus having God with him,
before Jesus gives the answer to his un-asked question. ‘If you’re looking for the
Kingdom, you are not going to see it unless you are born again’.
Now if Nicodemus was confused before, he’s really baffled now. Born again? Born
once is confusing enough to understand, how we can be born again? A man can’t
climb back in where he came from so that he can come out again! It was hard
enough for your mother the first time when you were an infant – how painful would it
be to birth an adult!
But Jesus is not talking about physical birth, he’s talking about birth with water and
the spirit. Not water, and then the spirit, as if you can be re-born again, and then
again, but water and the spirit together creating a new being. This new being is not
driven by its flesh as the old being was but is now driven by the spirit who resides
and does the good that pleases God.
Lutherans straight away think this relates to baptism. And why shouldn’t we? It’s not
even a big stretch. And here in this passage the active work of God in baptism is
highlighted.
During your birth I’m pretty sure you didn’t do much. You didn’t participate in the
conception, that’s a miracle of God and your Parents. You were passive through
gestation, fed as your mother ate, and then through your birth your mother once
again did all the hard work and you probably just cried when it was over. So if you
were passive and receptive in your physical birth, how much more are you passive
and receptive in your new birth?
We are passive in our life of faith. You don’t start by looking for God.
As much as we could say well Nicodemus came to God, so we must also come to
God. Verses 16-17 tell us that God has come to us. If God in Jesus were not on this
earth Nicodemus would have had no one to seek out.
Same goes for us, God seeks us out now by the Spirit blowing wherever he pleases.
Blowing through parents who know that it’s a good thing for their child to get
baptised. Blowing through families who want good things for their children even if
they cannot explain or put a name to them. Blowing through friends and
neighbours who do the good deeds of the spirit because he resides in them leading
their friends and neighbours to come and ask how and why are you doing these
good things.
This passage must definitely be about baptism. Baptism where the participant is
passive and God is active. Using water, word and spirit to get the job done to re-
birth a person of the spirit.
If Nicodemus didn’t understand, how can anyone of the flesh get it? We just don’t
and can’t understand how and why God does these things. We need to refer back
to the catechism where we learnt that ‘I cannot by my own understanding… …but
the Holy Spirit, calls, enlightens’ and so on.
Nicodemus couldn’t by his own understanding. Maybe he did get it eventually
because he went with Joseph to help bury Jesus. Abraham couldn’t by his own
understanding comprehend how God could call him to be the father of many
nations in his old age, but he eventually came to believe and have faith in the
promise of his God. So Nicodemus could be seen as a real son of Abraham who
came to believe, have faith in what God had told him.
We also can come to believe, we may not be able to understand for ourselves, but
the Holy Spirit calls and enlightens us, the Holy Spirit gives us faith to believe that; we
are reborn in baptism by water and the spirit. That we enter the kingdom in our new
birth, that we have the spirit. That we are included when Jesus tells us that God sent
his son for the whole world, for US.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming into the world as Saviour. May we believe in you
and be born again.
Peace…Amen.

The Text: Matthew 4:1-11

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today’s gospel reading deals with the realities of sin and temptation, grace and
faith. Our gospel reading identifies Jesus’ faith in the word of God. His faith was
demonstrated in the face of temptation.
As Christians we believe that sin has power – a deadly power that comes from the
evil one. We also believe that faith has power – a life-giving power that comes from
God.
In our lives we experience a struggle between these two powers. Martin Luther
often spoke about Christians being saints and sinners at the same time.
When we put our faith in God we can be sure that Satan will want to throw a
temptation or two our way. For example, we all have a dominant life value that we
unconsciously base our decisions on. For some this might be the desire for fun or
comfort or safety. It might be the desire for power or pleasure or to please others.
Satan loves to play with these desires and to lead us to think that we are the most
important people in the world and that everything should revolve around us.
Satan loves to challenge our faith and seeks to twist the truth to lead us away from
serving God.
When natural disaster or personal tragedy comes our way, Satan will try to tempt us
into believing ‘God doesn’t love me. God is punishing me.’ If you ever experience
this, stop! And remember what the scriptures say.
In the scriptures we will find a completely different explanation to disaster and
tragedy. Romans 8:22 says. We know that all that God created has been groaning.
It is in pain as if it were giving birth to a child. The created world continues to groan
even now.
Scripture makes it clear that there will come a time when there will be a new
heaven and a new earth and the old order of things will pass away and death will
be no more. Regardless of what happens in this world, will you keep your faith in
God’s promise that he is making all things new?
Even when disasters and tragedies leave us feeling as if we are small and
powerless, will we keep the faith?
There is an old Scandinavian legend that explains this so well. It is about the mighty
Thor and how one day he visited the land of the giants.
When Thor arrived there he found that the giants were engaged in
various contests of strength. They asked him if he would like to take part
in their games. He said yes. So they proposed three tests of strength for
him.
First Thor was asked to drink all the liquid in a large two handed drinking
bowl. He tried to drink it. And he drank as much as he could. But only a
tiny portion of the liquid in the bowl had disappeared. Finally he had to
put down the bowl and admit defeat. To him the giants seemed
sympathetic – and they proposed something a bit easier for his second
test.
A black cat was walking by and Thor was instructed to lift it up. He
grabbed hold of the animal, thinking it should be easy to hoist it up. He
strained and tugged as hard as he could but he couldn’t even begin
to budge the cat.
By this time the giants were beginning to be openly amused at Thor’s
predicament. “You are supposed to be strong”, they said, “but it seems
you are not. Well…we will give you something even easier for your third
test.”
So for the third test the giants challenged Thor to a wrestle with an old
woman. With every bit of strength that Thor could muster he grabbed
hold of the old woman, but all his pushing and pulling and twisting was
in vain. He simply could not meet the challenge.
As Thor, humbled and dejected, left the giants to head back home,
one of them went with him for a part of the way and told him that
there was magic in the contests. He said:
“The cup contained the sea and who can drink that? The cat was the
evil in the world, and who is able to lift that up and take it away? And
the old woman was time, and who is able to contend with her?”
When it comes to sin and its effect on the world, we are truly living in the land of
giants. The sin of all people causes the world to groan in pain. We are tempted to
give up in despair – feeling that nothing we can do will make a difference;
believing that there is no help or hope for us or our world.
Maybe this is the greatest temptation of our time. Maybe our greatest temptation is
to give up hope. This might just be the greatest work of Satan in our world –
tempting people away from putting their hope in God and his Holy word.
But friends, we have within us: one who is stronger than the world; one who is
greater than the tempter; one who has triumphed over evil both in life (as we see in
Jesus’ temptation today), and in death (as we see in Jesus’ death and resurrection).
Most people dwell too much on the negative side of things. They see the problems
but they don’t take hold of the solution. That solution is that the good news of
salvation that is unconditionally offered to all.
In our life we so quickly fall into despair on account of the giants we face: we forget
the stories of hope that God gives us, like the story of David and of how one small
stone in his hands brought an end to Goliath who threatened his nation and
caused even Saul and his mighty army to give up hope.
So too, we have a saviour: one who remembers who we are; one who loves us as a
father loves his children; one who seeks to nurture us as a mother nurtures her baby.
This saviour has ventured into the same troubled waters that we live in each day. He
has battled the currents – fought the enemies – and shown that he is able. He also
shows us that when we ‘swim’ with him – we are able too!
Our saviour remembers who we are and he loves us, and seeks the best for us. He
knows that we are weak swimmers in the deep waters of sin. He knows that we will
flounder and thrash, grow tired and sink. He knows the waters we are in. And he
does not ignore us.
Our saviour reaches out to us
– he calls out to us.
– he seeks to guide us and help us – and like all good parents
– he forgives us and does all that he can to make sure that we start each day
anew, refreshed and surrounded in love.

5 Lent
John 12:1-8

Mary is the central character in this story. John tells us that Martha served at the meal (which is reminiscent of what we know of Martha from the account of her and Mary in Luke’s gospel). In the same sentence we are told that Lazarus was also at the table with Jesus. Next to Jesus, Lazarus was the second guest of honour that night. But other than to link this story to the account of the rising of Lazarus in the preceding chapter, there is no role for Martha and Lazarus in the story that follows. Their presence is noted, and then it is just Mary and Jesus.

And Mary does something unexpected. Something extraordinary. Seemingly, something very extravagant and wasteful. She pour out a jar of scented oil on Jesus’ feet that was worth about a year’s wages for the average labourer of the day.

So what in the world was she thinking.

The other gospels tell us that all the disciples objected. John focuses on Judas.

This perfume could have been sold the money given to support the poor, he said.

And to be honest, Judas’ argument would have won the day in just about any church AGM. It was a poor use of limited resources.

So just what was Mary thinking?

Some have argued that that was exactly the point. She wasn’t thinking at all. She was feeling. She acted on impulse and out of love. And there was probably an element of this to her action that day.

But I am not convinced that this is not something she did without thinking it through. We learn from Lukes Gospel that it was Mary who was more concerned to hear the teachings of Jesus that to worry about serving her guests. And this caused some friction with her sister, Martha.

Mary was a thinker. She wanted to hear what Jesus had to say, and the weigh it up.

I think rather than being a purely emotional response to what Jesus was saying, Mary is the one person who actually thought through and understood his words that day.

 

[story]

Mary was a friend of Jesus. She was one of his followers. And Jesus had been talking openly to his followers about his impending death.

But the disciples did not understand what he was saying.

Judas completely misunderstood Jesus and ended up betraying him.

Peter, misunderstanding the kind of kingdom Jesus is brining, would take up a sword to defend Jesus, then later deny he knew him.

The high priest announced Jesus will die for the people and approves him for death, but did not understand the role he himself is playing because he does not understand who Jesus is and what he is about to do.

Pilate, the Roman governor, is more open than the high priest to considering the claims of Jesus, but he too fails to comprehend just who Jesus is and what he is about to do, though Jesus tells him plainly.

In fact, in the last days that Jesus dwelt among us only one person really seems to understand who he is, and what he is about to do – and that is Mary of Bethany.

Mary is the friend who is there for Jesus in those dark few days leading to the cross to support him, and anoint him, for what is about to come. And so, before his triumphal entry, we have this intriguing and vital story about Mary and Jesus.

The context of the event is that after some days in a remote place, in order to avoid those who were plotting to kill him after the furor caused by the raising of Lazarus, Jesus shows up at Bethany, at the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha. And we learn from the other gospels that it is also the home of Simon the former leper. Putting it all together, Simon is likely the uncle of these siblings, who live with him.

In any event, some days after Lazarus is raised from the dead, Jesus shows up at his home – a place to which he was no stranger, for this is where Jesus and his disciples appeared to regularly stay when visiting Jerusalem. And we are told that this took place six days before the Passover, which would have made it a Saturday night. This is the meal that came after the Sabbath had officially ended at sunset.

The response of Lazarus’ family to Jesus’ appearance again in Bethany is exactly what we would expect. They through a big party for Jesus, their friend and teacher, who just a few days earlier turned a tragic wake into the biggest miracle anyone had ever seen. So there is one very big party taking place, with guests likely squeezed into the inner courtyard of the house, and many others packed outside hoping to catch of glimpse of Jesus or Lazarus.

And that’s when it happened.

That’s when Mary, the one person present at the meal that night who truly understood what Jesus had been telling everyone is about to happen, does the unthinkable. She produces a large jar of expensive perfume, worth a year’s wages and likely kept as part of the family’s savings, or perhaps as a dowry for her or her sister Martha. Then she takes the perfume to Jesus and pours it on his feet. On the surface, this action would seem to be an imitation of a ceremony of washing the feet of a guest, usually done by a servant or one of the children. But her act also reminds us of the anointing of the body for burial, often done from head to foot. And kings sometimes had their feet anointed as a part of the coronation ceremony so they could go forth and conquer. So there is plenty of symbolism here.

So Mary washes Jesus’ feet. But she uses very expensive perfume, and not water. She is doing more than washing his feet. And I believe she knew exactly what she was doing. She had thought this through. She is not only preparing him for his death, but she is anointing him.

Then, just when the disciples and other guests thought here actions could not be more scandalous, Mary undoes her hair in public (something a respectable Jewish woman does not do) and uses her hair to wipe Jesus’ feet. It is an act of great and unexpected humility. One matched only by Jesus’ own act of washing the disciples’ feet a few days later.

What Mary does is an act motivated by love and devotion for Jesus. It is an act that is at the same time one of extraordinary extravagance and extraordinary humility.

First, consider the extravagance of Mary’s act.

In a few seconds’ time she used up a year’s worth of wages in highly prized, scented oil. And remember, Mary’s much loved brother Lazarus had only recently died and gone through his burial rites – and Mary did not bring out the scented oil for that occasion. That reminds us just how valuable this ointment was. Buying a bouquet of flowers for my wife for her birthday would be a modest symbol of my affection for her. Buying her the entire florist’s shop would be an extravagant and extraordinary display of love – and one that would probably get me in more trouble than simply buying a bouquet of flowers. Essentially, Mary buys Jesus the whole flower shop. She does not hold back in her display of love and devotion.

Now, let us consider the humility of Mary’s act.

If I were to offend my wife in some way – which over the course of 40 years of marriage may from time to time have happened (theoretically, of course), the expected thing for me to do would be to humble myself and say ‘sorry.’ An extreme act of humility on my part would be to sit outside our front door covered in ashes with a sign hanging over by head saying ‘I am sorry.’ Again, such action on my part would likely cause a good deal of embarrassment for my wife, who would more likely have preferred a simple apology. Well, Mary’s basically sits on her doorstep covered in ashes. She washes Jesus’ feet, which the host or hostess would not normally do themselves. She undoes her hair, which a grown Jewish woman never does in public without shaming herself. Then she uses her hair rather than a towel to rub the ointment into Jesus’ feet. It was an act of extreme humility.

As you can imagine, Mary’s actions stopped every conversation in the room. There would have been absolute shocked silence. Then Judas speaks up. The other gospels tell us that the disciples as a group complained about this, but John puts the focus on Judas. He says what everyone else is thinking. Mary had not only embarrassed herself, but has just wasted a great deal of money that could have been used to help the poor.

But here’s the thing. Jesus was neither concerned by the extravagance of Mary’s display of love, nor embarrassed by her public display of extreme humility.

Jesus puts Judas and all Mary’s other critics to silence with his words: ‘Leave her alone. She bought the perfume so that she could keep it for the day of my burial.’

Jesus confirms that Mary alone had been paying attention to what he was saying. Mary alone had thought about his words, and acted accordingly.

Jesus accepts Mary’s gift, and explains that she is preparing him for his day of burial.

Mary performed a two-fold service for Jesus that day. She is prepared him for his death and burial. And she anointed him to take up his kingdom. This becomes particularly significant in the order in which John places the anointing in Bethany and the triumphal entry. Matthew and Mark place the triumphal entry first. John puts the anointing in Bethany first. John’s point is clear. Jesus enters Jerusalem as the anointed king. And he goes to his death on the cross as the anointed king.

In the midst of his final week – filled with so much misunderstanding, betrayal, denial, abandonment, rejection and condemnation – one woman, Mary of Bethany, was paying attention to what Jesus was saying. One woman understood what was happening. And through an act of both extravagance and great humility, she anointted Jesus for what is to come as he sets out on his path to the cross.

Then it is Jesus’ turn to act on our behalf. For it is on the cross that Jesus shows us the greatest extravagance of love, and the greatest act of humility, that the world would ever see.

Amen.

Pastor Mark Worthing.
Port Macquarie.

The Text: Luke 15:20

He was still a long way from home when his father saw him; his heart was filled with pity, and he ran, threw his arms around his son, and kissed him.Shame is a painful feeling we have when our improper behaviour, incompetence, and bad judgement are brought out into the open. As we feel shame we feel guilt and disappointment in ourselves and the judgement of others as they wonder how we could have disgraced ourselves in such a way. Embarrassment, dishonour, disgrace, inadequacy and humiliation are associated with shame.

The origin of the word ‘shame’ is connected to an older word meaning to cover. We see this in the account of Adam and Eve when they realised that they had disobeyed God and heard him calling for them in the Garden of Eden. They felt shame for what they had done and so what did they do? They covered their nakedness and went undercover as they tried to hide from God. When we feel shame we want to hide from others, not make eye contact, and feel as if our faces are on fire as we blush.

Look into the history of our country you will find attitudes and events that are shameful. Every country has those times in their history that bring shame.

Shame and dishonour are very important concepts in the Middle East and one’s honour and that of the family are very valuable and to be protected at all costs. It was like that in Jesus’ time.

Remember the wedding at Cana when the wine ran out? That kind of thing brought shame upon the groom and his family and that stigma would stay with them for a long time.

You can imagine the shame Peter felt as he heard the rooster crow and realised that he had done exactly what he had so boldly stated he wouldn’t do – not once but three times he had denied that he ever knew Jesus. We are told he wept bitterly out of shame.

Today’s gospel reading from Luke gives us the story Jesus’ told about the father and his two sons and even though the word shame doesn’t appear in the text, there is still plenty of shame involved in this story. Let’s take a look at the instances of shame in this story. Part of understanding this parable is to view it from its Middle Eastern context.

Firstly, there is the shameful thing the youngest son does. He does something that is really low and unkind. He demands that his father immediately give him his share of the inheritance that would normally come his way when his father died. Making this kind of demand is like wishing his dad was dead so that he could get his hands on dad’s money. This is another way of saying to his father, “I no longer want to have anything to do with you. Give me what is mine so that I can cut loose from this family.”

Research has shown that this kind of demand is unheard of in Jewish culture and if the request was granted and a son was given a part of his inheritance that didn’t give the son the right to cash in his share. By selling his father’s property he would deprive his father of his own livelihood. Does the son care? No! His action in selling his share of the property only heaps more shame on himself. He is self-centred, ungrateful, and greedy and doesn’t care how much his family will suffer. He only cares about himself. In a Middle Eastern community that was very much family and community oriented, this kind of attitude is indeed shameful.

To treat his father and family like this not only brought shame on himself but also brought shame on his father. In fact, the whole of the community would feel the shame of the way this lad had treated his father and so the only way a father could restore dignity and pride again in the sight of his neighbours was to wash his hands of this shame by never speaking to his son again or even acknowledge that he ever existed. As far as the family was concerned that son was dead and there was no coming back again.

But the son’s shameful deeds don’t end there with his leaving father and brother to live off what they had left; he goes to a far off land indicating that he never intended to return and there he wastes his father’s hard-earned money with wild parties and spending as if there was a never ending supply of cash.

He ends up in a pig pen. Pigs were animals that Jews considered to be unclean and totally repulsive. Pigs were the garbage collectors of the time and were the way of getting rid of any household rubbish. What a pitiful and shameful picture this young man must have made as he sat amongst the filth of snorting, messy, sometimes dangerous pigs, especially if someone tried to muscle in on their food. He even tried begging from passers-by but no one cared. Maybe they had heard how he had treated his father and so believed he got what he deserved.

I think you get the picture and though his shame is so overwhelming his desperate situation calls for desperate measures. He is aware that he has cut himself off from his family and can never go back as a son, so he trudges toward home to ask for a job as a hired servant, and to live with the servants. As he takes the long journey back home, his heart is likely heavy with shame and guilt for what he has done and the broken relationship between him and his father.

We know what happens when his father sees him coming in the distance. He doesn’t walk or shuffle slowly but races down the road to meet him; throws his arms around him; there is no rebuke or accusations; only the joy of a loving father welcoming home a son whom he had considered dead. In the eyes of the people in his village, it was most undignified for a father to be seen running through the streets let alone running to greet and hugging this son who has acted so shamefully toward his father and his family. He is humiliating himself, likely demonstrating a spineless and weak character he is by treating his son in a way he doesn’t deserve and seemingly rewarding him with his love.

The father has become an embarrassment to the whole village because by accepting his son back he is also bringing shame on himself and he is doing this gladly. He is happy to take on his son’s shame because his son is back; this son that had once disowned his family is now back and can be restored to the family; this son who was once dead is now alive.

To our western way of thinking this is a feel good story – father and son are reconciled – but it’s not. This story is scandalous. To Jewish hearers, the behaviour of father and son is downright shameful. To Christian hearers this is an illustration of our relationship with God – we are the spiteful son and God is the loving Father who leaves his house and takes up this humiliating posture on the road. He has no shame and at a great personal cost greets, hugs and throws a feast for the one who had treated him so badly. The father takes on the shame of the son and becomes shameful in the eyes of the world as he restores the boy to his home and reconciliation between them occurs.

You can see why this reading has been included in the lead up to Good Friday because the father’s action is a symbol of what God has done and is doing for us through Christ. Like the son we have been oblivious to the pain that we have caused our heavenly Father. Just as the son wasn’t even aware that he had hurt his father, likewise we are too often quite indifferent to the way our speech and actions hurt our heavenly Father. But our Father in heaven was prepared to take on our shame and guilt, to embrace us, and welcome us back home. God takes our shame, our humiliation, guilt, and disgrace on himself and he is punished for us and as Isaiah tells us, is despised, struck, beaten for our sins. He is brought low and put to shame for us. He hung in shame from a cross – an innocent man treated as a criminal and mocked as a fraud all the while taking on our shame and reconciling us to our heavenly Father.

On the cross, Jesus is the greatest and most shameful of sinners – there he is made a liar and a thief and an adulterer and a murder, for you and me. Just as love was the driving force that led the father in Jesus’ story to be shamed in front of all his friends and neighbours so that he could welcome back his son, so Jesus’ love for us is the driving force that led him to be shamed and humiliated, nailed naked to a cross so he could welcome us back as his sons and daughters. This shame he gladly bears and makes it possible for those who were dead to now be alive; those who were lost to be found.

There are those who have used this parable to show that God is an old softy when it comes to sin and like a doting old father doesn’t take his children’s waywardness seriously. To our modern minds, this parable might be understood that way, but to look at it in its Middle Eastern context we can see that reconciliation is a painful thing. The father could have easily severed his relationship with his son and quite rightfully forgotten that he ever had a son. He and his family had been terribly shamed by his behaviour by Jewish standards. And so he could have quite rightly ignored the boy as he came up the road but instead he shamelessly raced to meet his son and, in spite of the stares of his neighbours, embraced and welcomed his son home.

As we move closer to Good Friday we become aware again just how much God has done for us and continues do for us especially when we come limping home and smelling as unclean as pigs in Jewish culture. Just as the father in Jesus’ parable wrapped his arms around his smelly, filthy, shameful child so also our heavenly Father wraps his arms around us when we are smelly and filthy and shameful because of our sin.

Our God loves us with a divine love. One who runs and leaps for joy when every sinner returns home. Amen.

3 Lent 2025
Isaiah 55:1-9

The large cardboard sign propped up against the curb and written in bold, black texta said ‘FREE STUFF’. 

It was as apt description. Behind the sign was a pile of what could only be described as ‘stuff’. Someone had clearly had a long-overdue clean out of their garage. Or perhaps they were moving.

I cast an eye at the pile of ‘stuff’ as I drove past. It was the usual. There was a lounge chair without cushions, and three-legged coffee table, a couple of old car tyres, a couple of stacks of old 8-tracks, a rusted bicycle frame, a rolled up old carpet.

And what was that in the back? An old piano? No. I think it was a roll top desk. But then I was past.

Later that morning I thought about that pile of stuff. Was that a roll top desk? I had been looking for one of them for a while. They are not cheap, even second hand. And this one appeared to be about the right size. But who in their right mind would give away something like that. Surely there was something wrong with it. It was badly damaged or warped, poorly constructed, etc.

All day my mind went back to that roll top desk. I finally decided that afternoon to drive back past and have another look. Perhaps it really was a roll-top desk for free.

As I pulled up alongside the curb in front of the pile of free stuff, I could see clearly that it was indeed an old roll-top desk. And it was clearly in very good condition. I could see all this because it was being loaded into the back of a ute parked just in front of me!

I had waited and dithered too long, disbelieving that anything that good was actually being given away, or thinking surely there was something seriously wrong with it that I would notice as soon as I stopped to inspect it. Many other passersby had likely had the same thought.

It would have been a great desk. Just what I was looking for. But now it was gone. I had missed the opportunity.

In today’s Old Testament reading from the prophet Isaiah we have a similar situation. Isaiah is writing to a people in exile in Babylon. They are not accustomed to expecting much, and certainly nothing for free.

The prophet gets their attention in words that echoed the well-known calls of the spruikers in the market places of the ancient world selling food and fresh drinking water.

‘Ho! Everyone who thirsts come to the waters; and you that have no money; come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price!’

Many of you have travelled to places where this kind of selling still occurs. ‘You there, yes, you, Mam. You look like you could use a new hat. I have one just your colour that would match your outfit!’

Or, ‘You sir. You look like someone how could use a cool drink. I have fresh coconuts here. Just one dollar, and I will slice it open for you and include a straw. No extra charge!’

We tend to tune out these calls unless it is something we were looking for. But what if someone starts calling out, ‘You there! No money? No worries! I have food and drink for free. No gimmick. No charge.’

Well, that would get our attention. And that is the intention of the prophet in this passage. They now the familiar words of the spruikers. But who spruiks stuff for free?

We would likely be very skeptical of such an offer. It makes so sense. Surely there is a catch. Like most, we would likely walk on past, known free food and drink was too good to be true.

But that is exactly what God is doing. He is offering a people in captivity and exile grace. He is promising that they will return home. He reminds them of the great king David from their past. Those days will be restored. So come and drink and eat from the Lord’s table. By grace, he is providing this all for free.

The words of the prophet are a foretaste of the call God issues to us all in and through Christ. Come, eat and drink. Forgiveness and life everlasting are on offer – for free.

Well, as we know, free stuff, stuff that is not actually junk, just doesn’t make sense. Nor does it make sense that God would be giving away salvation for free. There must be a catch.

But the prophet knows that his readers are going to be asking these same questions. He reminds them (in verses 8 and 9) that God says ‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’

Yes, free stuff – from God – doesn’t make sense. Not from a human perspective. But God reminds us that he is not us. God does’t think and act as we do. God acts on a whole new level. And in God’s world, and God’s reality, new life, forgiveness and salvation really are being given away.

But there is a proviso. We are warned that the offer is not unlimited. Now is the time to turn to God’s love, now is the time to choose to follow the path God has set before us. Now is the time to do those things we know God wants us to do. God calls us to choose him, to follow him. God calls us to his love. And he offers us life and life everlasting for free. But now is the time to respond to this unbelievable offer.

The prophet Isaiah writes these well-known words: ‘Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let that return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them and will abundantly pardon.’ (verse 7).

It is a bit like me and the free roll-top desk. I spent so long convincing myself that there was not a catch, and that perhaps it was a perfectly good old roll-top desk behind that pile of stuff that by the time I finally decided to go back and check it out, the desk was taken. I had dithered too long.

When we know what God wants us to do, when we know that we need to change our lives or actions, when we know that we need to respond to the love that God shows to us in Jesus, there is no point putting it off, forever considering our options or trying to find the catch.

God is near to us now, he is able to be found now.

We do not know what the future might bring. Jesus, if very strong words in today’s Gospel reading, made the same point that Isaiah is making. He reminded the crowds of a couple recent tragedies, including a tower falling over and killing eighteen people. None of these eighteen expected that this would be their last day. No one saw the tower collapse coming. Some of them may have been thinking: I need to start doing the things God wants me to do. I need to make amends with my neighbour, my parents, my siblings. I need to give up some thins I am doing that are wrong. Perhaps they had been considering these things for some days, or weeks, or months, or years. But now it was too late. Jesus warns his listeners that their time might also be limited. He finishes with the story of the fig tree. It has no born fruit and the owner (God) says it is time to cut it down. But the gardener (Jesus) says give it another year. Let me work on it for another year.

Jesus does not easily give up on us. But he also warns us that and end may well come to the opportunity to choose to follow him, to choose to return to him, to do that thing that we know God wants us to do.

Free stuff? Hard for us to believe, but in God’s case, he really does offer us his love for free. And now is the time to seek him, while he is near and may be found.

Free love and mercy. It’s a deal that is hard to believe. But God’s thoughts and ways are very different to our own.

But we may not always be is position to respond to God. We do not know when Christ will return, we do not know when our own earthly journey will end, we do not know when circumstances will change and the opportunity to do something that we felt God was calling us to do will pass.

So the message of both Jesus, expressed in stark terms in today’s Gospel text, and that of Isaiah, expressed more gently, is the same. It is one of urgency. God’s grace is on offer. God wants us to return to him. But now is the time to respond.
Amen.

Pastor Mark Worthing.
Port Macquarie.

2 Lent 2025

Philippians 3:17-4:1 

Citizenship is a big issue today. There has been much in the news about citizenship ceremonies and when to hold them, and each election year several pre-selected political candidates are forced to withdraw because it is found that they are citizens of more than one country. We read also of those who have live most of their lives in Australia, but never formally took up citizenship, being deported if they are convicted of a serious criminal offence.

In our own congregation we have a number of people currently working through the ever more complex process of getting a visa that will eventually allow them to obtain Australian citizenship.

Being a citizen is a big deal.

It was a big deal in earlier generations also. Early German Lutheran migrants in the mid-19^th century were keen to swear their allegiance to the king and be Australian citizens. It was symbolic of their new life and the fact they were here to stay.

After the second world war waves of migrants came to Australia, most eager to take up citizenship as soon as they could.

But others in this period resisted taking up Australian citizenship, choosing to live their whole lives here as permaent residents. They were reluctant migrants in the aftermath of war and it was too hard emotionally to let go of their previous citizenship – because that citizenship continued to mean a great deal to them.

Citizenship also becomes important if someone gets into any legal or medical strife while traveling overseas. Citizens of strong countries who actively care for their citizens get consular assistance quickly and are often flown out of dangerous situations by special flights. Citizens of impoverished nations get no such help. So in such cases, again, the question of citizenship becomes important.

In the Roman world, the world in which the Apostle Paul lived, citizenship was also important. The prized citizenship to have at that time was Roman citizenship.  If you had Roman citizenship you had some special rights. You could not simply be arrested and tried anywhere in the world by local authorities without Roman involvement. And if you were convicted of a series offence anywhere, you had the right to appeal, all the way to Ceasar.

Paul, by virtue of his birth in Tarsus and other considerations, was in the rare situation of being a Roman citizen. This is something that assisted him often in his travels and in times of difficulty. Many would have been envious of him for having Roman citizenship as it was greatly prized.

Paul uses citizenship several times in his writings to illustrate a point. Today’s Epistle reading is one such text.

After talking about the way some who do not know Christ live, Paul reminds his readers that they are not to be like that. ‘But our citizenship is in heaven,’ he says.

There are three important points about citizenship that the Apostle makes in this text.

First, citizenship is about identity and belonging.

Everyone wants to belong somewhere. There are few things more difficult than the situation of those people who are considered ‘stateless.’ They are in a terrible limbo in which no country will officially recognise or claim them. When we migrate to a new country, it is often very important to officially belong to this new country. That is why citizenship ceremonies continue to be very popular despite disputes about when they are held. New citizens want to celebrate that they are now officially Australian. They want to celebrate that they belong here.

Paul reminds his readers that there is a citizenship that is even more prized and more important than Roman citizenship. That is the citizenship of heaven.

It is nearly impossible to gain citizenship to some countries if you were not born there, and born to citizens of that country. Even immigrant countries like Australia, the US, Canada and NZ are increasingly difficult to gain citizenship to.

In Paul’s time, if you were not born a Roman, Roman citizenship was not only prized, it was rare.

But the greatest and most powerful kingdom of all, Paul reminds us, is the kingdom of heaven. And citizenship of heaven belongs to everyone who is in Christ. If you are a follower of Jesus, then you are a citizen of heaven. That is our true identity. The citizenship of heaven trumps all other citizenships. When we are in Christ, we belong to Christ. And we are citizens of his heavenly kingdom, and of the kingdom that will one day also be manifest on earth.

The second point the Apostle makes is this: Citizenship comes with expectations.

We see this in our own context today. When one takes an oath of citizenship, it is clear that there are certain expectations. It is expected that one will be loyal to one’s country, follow its laws, etc.

Paul reminds us that as citizens of heaven we are expected to live like citizens of Christ’s kingdom. We are not to live like those who care only about the flesh, about filling our bellies, about earthly glory. We are to live as those following the Way that Jesus showed us. We are to live lives modelled on the love we have in Christ and the love he calls us to show to one another. We are to live lives focused on the importance of heavenly things. We are to live lives of service and discipleship.

Paul is telling us that being a citizen makes a difference. And being a citizenship comes with certain rights and expectations. And this is true especially of being a citizen of the heavenly kingdom.

Finally, citizenship brings with it the right and expectation of assistance.

I think we are all familiar with the expectation of consular assistance that we, and citizens of most other countries, can expect if we get into strife abroad.

Paul reminds us that as citizens of Christ’s heavenly kingdom, we are all living ‘abroad’ on this earth. Our true citizenship is in heaven. And we can expect help from there. The Apostle writes: ‘It is from heaven that we are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.’

The kingdom of heaven does not simply send some consular staff member to check on our well-being. The king himself will come to us, and will come as the one who rescues and saves us.

And what services can we expect when this heavenly assistance comes to its citizens? It is a pretty impressive. Pual tells us that when our king, Jesus, comes to the citizens of his kingdom, ‘he will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory.’ In other words, when Jesus returns, he will transform us all and we will be given resurrected bodies that no longer faulter under the strain of sickness and age and other mortal limitations.

And Jesus can do this because his is the king, he can do it through ‘the power that enables him to make all things subject to himself.’ Our king is more powerful than any other king, and he does not forget the citizens of his kingdom.

So in knowledge of who we are in Jesus, of who we are as citizens of Chrit’s heavenly kingdom, Paul urges us to stand firm. That is, we are not to become overwhelmed. We are not to lose heart. We are not to stop living as citizens of Christ’s kingdom.

We know who Jesus is. And we know who we are citizens of his heavenly kingdom, awaiting the return of our king.

 Amen.

Pastor Mark Worthing.
Port Macquarie

The Text: Luke 4:1-13

 

It’s one of the most recognisable icons throughout the world—the logo behind the i-Phone, i-Pad and i-Mac computer brand: Apple. So I thought this memo that has been circulating on the internet is quite ingenious: “Adam and Eve—the first people to not read the apple terms and conditions.”

That’s a clever pun referring to the Devil’s tempting Adam and Eve to disobey God and take a bite from the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. The temptation, though, was so much more than simply taking a bite from an apple—or whatever the fruit was. It was a temptation to be like God, knowing good and evil…in other words, to put themselves in the place of God himself and decide right and wrong for themselves. The consequences of this were serious; a matter of life and death…actually, just death…for everyone. The Apostle Paul put it this way: “…sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all humankind…” (Romans 5:12).

In today’s Gospel reading, there is also a temptation involving food. Luke tells us that Jesus returned from the Jordan after he was baptised, to be tempted by the Devil in the desert for 40 days. During that time Jesus ate nothing, and at the end of the 40 days he was hungry. Remember that Jesus is fully human, born to Joseph and Mary. He has real human cravings and needs. Imagine how difficult going without food for 40 days would have been. Then the devil comes to Jesus and strikes right at the centre of his need: “If you are the Son of God tell this stone to become bread.”

Like it was for Adam and Eve back in the Garden of Eden, how Jesus responds to this temptation is also a matter of life and death. With his tempting of Jesus, I wonder whether Satan is really questioning if Jesus is the Son of God. The Greek word for ‘if’ can also mean ‘since’—and I think that’s how ‘if’ is functioning here. Even the demons know Jesus’ identity; it is later in this chapter that Luke tells us that “demons also came out of many, crying, ‘You are the Son of God!’”

Although Satan doesn’t know all things, he does know that Jesus is the Saviour that God promised right back in the beginning in Genesis 3; the one who would bruise his heel as he crushed Satan’s head. He knows that Jesus is the Saviour of the world the whole Old Testament pointed to. This is the Messiah the prophets spoke of and the people were waiting for. What the devil is saying is: “Since you are the Son of God tell this stone to become bread.”

For Satan knew that all that stood between him and the human race being forever enslaved to his demonic power, is Jesus. Right there in the desert, with Jesus famished and physically and emotionally weak from hunger, there’s never been a better opportunity. Satan knows Jesus could turn the stones into loaves so he tempts Jesus at Jesus’ time of desperate need, to live independently of his Father’s will. If he can get Jesus to think of himself and use his power to satisfy his cravings instead of being obedient to his Heavenly Father, Jesus will be his, and the whole world will be lost and condemned forever.This is Satan’s power play for eternal world domination.

This is most clear with the second temptation in the text. The devil led Jesus up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to Jesus, “I will give you all their authority and splendour, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours” (verses 5-7). What a lie! For we hear at the close of Matthew’s Gospel Jesus say to his disciples: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

It was Satan who had bitten off more than he could chew. For Jesus is not only fully human, he shares the same divine nature of his Father and the Holy Spirit from all eternity. Where Adam and Eve failed to live by God’s word and sought their own will, Jesus, the second Adam, faithfully lives by God’s word and rebukes Satan with Scripture.

In response to the first temptation to turn the stone into bread, Jesus responds with Deuteronomy 8:3: “one does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” The context of this was God feeding his people Israel with manna as they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. They too, like Jesus, were hungry. God had freed them. But unlike Jesus they lacked faith. They complained against God by complaining against his leader, Moses. They despised the manna God sent from heaven. God was teaching them that they should trust him. There in the desert, Jesus trusted that just as his Father fed the Israelites in their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, so too his Father will provide for him in his 40^th day of hunger.

To the temptation of worshipping Satan to gain the world’s kingdoms, Jesus responds with Deuteronomy 6:13: “Fear the LORD your God and serve him only” and then from a few verses on: “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” All temptation is a temptation to live independently of God, to be masters of our own fate, to do what we feel like doing for a fleeting moment of pleasure, or to feel good about ourselves, or to cope with stresses or problems in ways that clearly contradict God’s word. When we succumb to temptations, we say “No thanks God, I’ll do it my way” We break the first commandment, to fear, love and trust God above everything else and we put God to the test. That’s a complete reversal of things for it is God who is the perfectly faithful one to test us; to refine our faith.

As much as we hate to hear it, we put God to the test and often live by bread alone, failing to fear and serve God only. We might think we do OK because we haven’t taken drugs or robbed a bank or murdered anyone. But Satan tempts us to live by bread alone in everyday, subtle ways. The Ten Commandments show us that our missing the mark of God’s standards is endless: using God’s name in vain in grumbling against him like the Israelites in the desert. Laying his word aside rather than gladly hearing and learning it, or maybe using our way of helping in the church, or our worship, as a way of trying to get God to show us more favour than he has before. To criticise rather than respect, or using our tongue to get even with those who have caused hurt, rather than to forgive them. To covet what our neighbours have and think we are not really complete unless we have it, rather than be content with what God has already blessed us with, and to work hard at gaining the approval of others instead of resting in the approval the Father gives us through faith in Christ.

There is another way the Devil tempts all of us. When we follow Adam and Eve’s footsteps and live independently of God’s word, and the Devil heaps condemnation upon us, and tempts us to disbelieve the promise of God’s word—that we are justified by faith alone and there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. The Devil tempts us to think that we need something in addition to Jesus for us to be properly reconciled to God. He tempts us to doubt God’s favour could be for us, or to think that God is punishing or cursing us for past sins when calamity comes our way. He tempts us to disbelieve that God’s love for the world could ever really be for us.

But Satan is the one without hope! What happened in our Gospel reading is part of Jesus’ total redemptive work for the world. Jesus’ overcoming temptation in the desert points ahead to the Cross, where further on in Luke’s Gospel, we again hear those mocking words and the temptation to Jesus to not carry out God’s plan: “The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God.” The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself“ (23:35-36).

But again Jesus thinks not of displaying his power and authority for his own sake—although completely innocent and blameless, he suffered to the end of his bloody and brutal death, and once for all overcame sin, death and the devil, so that we might live. And just when Satan thought he had Jesus where he had him, comes the glorious afterglow of the resurrection, which our Lenten season culminates with. Satan’s empire has collapsed!

Baptised into that same death and resurrection, we are united with Christ and are clothed in his own perfect righteousness as the Father’s dear child. We are freed from Satan’s power and his dominion of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of glorious light in the life of Jesus. In our baptism we have received the same Holy Spirit that Jesus did in his baptism, and our Heavenly Father continues to pour out his Spirit on us through his Son as he meets us and serves us through his life-giving word. This word brings divine nourishment for our body and soul that cannot come from bread alone.

Though we all struggle to a lesser or greater degree as Satan waits for the opportune times to tempt us, God promises to bless us through Jesus’ powerful, life-giving gospel, with grace and strength to resist temptation. Jesus himself prays for us, as the crucified risen Christ leads us in prayer to his Father: “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”

Jesus gives us food for the journey in your times in the desert. He is the bread of life who feeds you, God’s people, with true bread from heaven. He doesn’t make stones become loaves, but when he speaks, simple wafers are at the same time his true body, and the wine his precious blood. As he gives it to you, hear him say: “This is my body, given for you. This is my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of all your sins. Believe him because then we have the fullness of what he promises: forgiveness, life and salvation; the sharing in of Jesus’ own victory for the world over sin death Satan and hell.

Satan cannot give us anything. He can only lie, deceive and bring fear. But our Father in heaven has given us a Kingdom greater than all the kingdoms of the world. For his kingdom has come to us in the Christ, the Son of God, who does not just give us an example to follow. He has given himself, for us. So when the devil knocks at the door, send Jesus to answer it—since he is the Son of God who has already won the victory over sin, death and the devil for you. Amen.