February 17, 2021 – Ash Wednesday                                            Text:  John 11:45-57

Dear Friends in Christ,

            We live in an era of platitudes.  You know many of them – “alone together”, “united as one”, “let’s end so-and so.”  Almost every college basketball team has some sort of short saying on their warm-up jerseys or even on their uniforms.  We think that a saying is going to change behavior. 

            The definition of platitude is “a flat or trite remark.”  It’s nice but it doesn’t carry much weight.  We can use all the words we want but only the Lord can change hearts and minds.  It really is that simple.

            “The New Normal.”  You have heard this one over and over and you will continue to hear it over and over.  Ask some to define it and you would get many diverse opinions.  Continue to social distance . . . wear a mask in certain situations . . .  limit travel . . . be ready for the next virus . . . listen to me or I will destroy you.  Nobody knows what they mean but they continue to use the words like they do.  It is a flat and trite remark.

            During this penitential season of Lent our overall theme is going to be, “The New Normal Or Is It?”  We will use the Gospel of John to prayerfully show that nothing has changed in our world since the time of Jesus.  What we deal with on a daily basis is exactly what Jesus and his followers dealt with.  We know we need Jesus and His teachings – “not more than ever” – but the same way we have always needed them.

            It’s Ash Wednesday and Caiaphas has a platitude . . .

“IT IS BETTER FOR YOU THAT ONE MAN DIE FOR THE PEOPLE, NOT THAT THE

WHOLE NATION SHOULD PERISH.”

            Try putting that on a t-shirt.  In our text we have the plot to kill Jesus, but why?  Well, right before this he had raised Lazarus from the dead.  Now, shouldn’t this be a good thing?  Giving someone their life back?  Jesus lived in a sinful, upside down world.  Sound familiar?  The Jews and Pharisees were threatened.  Jesus had greater power than they had.  There are also political considerations.  Sound familiar?  If Jesus led a rebellion the Jews could lose their nation to the Romans. 

            Caiaphas knew he needed to do something.  He is going to utter a phrase which he thinks will satisfy the people and keep them in power.  He is basically saying that if one guy dies then the nation can be saved.  Great plan.  It should work.  These must have been the whispers.  Let’s get a billboard up. 

            What they miss is God’s hand in all of this.  Sound familiar?  God compels Caiaphas to utter this simple sentence and as they say in the country, “it has a whole lot of buckshot in it.”  Jesus would die for the nation.  He would die for the Jews and the Pharisees and Caiaphas.  But it would be more than that.  Jesus would die for the world.  Jesus would die for you and me.  Jesus would die for the platitude speakers and the sloganeers. 

            The cross He died on would be a simple, wood structure, so easy to design that the cross would adorn His followers until His return.  On an altar or above it, hanging on a church sign, worn around the neck, tattooed on an arm, scratched in the dirt of a cell, written in chalk, found on a hymnal, seen in the design of a telephone pole or other structure, standing above an interstate, hanging on a mountain, found on a rearview mirror and adorning a coffee cup.  See, the Lord God always knew what He was doing.  He always will.

            Jesus practiced social distancing, at least from certain people.  He couldn’t walk openly because of the public opposition.  His life was at stake and they couldn’t take His life, He had to give it.

            Jewish leaders had hearts that were hard.  They wanted to kill Jesus before the Passover.  Their hatred made them callous to God’s grace and mercy and compassion.  Sound familiar?  We need every day to repent of our sin and be in prayer.  May the Holy Spirit confirm this faith daily as we fulfill our calling faithfully.  Look around there is no new normal.  There is only what has been.  Rejoice that nothing stopped Jesus from graciously giving His life for all people at God’s appointed time.  He gathered us, His children, to Himself.

            Don’t live in platitudes, unless you can define or explain them.  Live with God’s Word.  It explains itself when it works on the heart of the atheist or agnostic or misguided.  It explains itself when it changes the mind of a relative or friend.  It has been explaining itself for centuries and it works for the good of those who love Him.

            It is not a trite remark because it’s true – “Jesus Died So We Might Live.”

            Next week the Gospel of John tackles the cancel culture.  See you at the foot of the cross.

                        Amen.    

February 14, 2021                                                                            Text:  2 Kings 2:1-12

Dear Friends in Christ,

            What is the hardest separation moment you have had?  The death of a close friend or relative?  A child that has gone to college or the military or moved halfway across the United States for a new job?   A mentor left at your workplace?  A divorce you never saw coming? 

            One that tears at the heartstrings were a few moments when the boys were little and I got called away for a death, a hospital call, even a meeting I had to attend.  To see them standing at the door crying or with that disappointed look in their eyes gave this Pastor an emotion that is difficult to comprehend.  If you can relate to this story you know what it is like.  I was fortunate as they got older to take them with me and the separation was lessened.

            In our Gospel lesson for this morning Christ is leading three of his inner circle to a mountain to prepare them for his death and resurrection.  He is giving them hope in the Transfiguration.  In another location across the Jordan River and many years earlier, despite the pain of separation from his master, Elijah, Elisha received a similar confidence via a spectacular display of God’s presence. 

            For our title today I am going to use a line that I share with people like the brothers and sisters at our former congregations or relatives and friends that may not be seen for awhile – if ever here on earth.  It fits our direction this morning . . .

“IF I DON’T SEE YOU IN THIS LIFE, I’LL SEE YOU IN THE NEXT”

            That line is used for people that are Christians.  It is our great hope to see them again.  But even for those of us who believe in God and His Word, separation is still a painful loss. 

            Elijah is the one man in the Bible who didn’t die.  He was literally taken to heaven and separated from Elisha.  And while Elisha knew this was going to happen he still cried when it occurred.  He mourned. 

            It can be like this for us who watch a loved one creep toward death because of cancer or other lingering illness.  We know the separation is inevitable but the end pounds the last nail in the coffin.  Even in the midst of that we know the separation is temporary.  Elisha knew that this was not a forever situation.

            Jesus’ disciples would mourn his suffering and death.  They grieve from a distance at his trial and crucifixion.  The believing women are still in sorrow at Sunday’s first light.  They all are weeping even though the Lord shared the final chapter of the story.  He told them numerous times that on the third day he would rise again. 

            Death’s sting inflicts pain on us.  We can’t make that phone call or have that conversation we had in the past.  We can’t see the joy on their face in our accomplishments or the grandchildren’s victories.  We miss them at the dinner table and next to us in the pew.  Even though death is the result of our sin, we still can have tears flow for what seems like the silliest of reasons even though we know that in Christ it is only temporary.  “If I don’t see you in this life, I’ll see you in the next.”

            God’s divine plan brings comfort and hope.  Elijah knows the comfort of God’s promises.  He goes to his final destination knowing that his crossover to heaven brings a joyous end to his times of misery and despair.  Elijah felt abandonment in life and he had Jezebel who wanted to kill him.  This man of God was resuscitated by the Lord’s angel and was shown that God had not abandoned him.  It is this quiet confidence in his destination that we see in our text.

            Elisha confidently follows his master to the end.  He knew the Master had a plan.  God revealed this truth in each stage of the journey.

            God’s glory, which we will experience some day, is on display this morning.  The chariots and horses of fire and Elisha exclaiming, “My father, my father!  The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”  Our Lord’s transfiguration elicits awe and this from Peter, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here.  Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”  Even our Lord’s greatest manifestation of glory on the cross, which takes away the permanent sting of death and sin, caused at least one man to declare, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (Mk. 15:39)

            As a result of Christ’s victory over sin, death, and the devil, the company of heaven broke out in jubilant song.  When reunited with one another and in the visible presence of Almighty God day and night, they never stopped saying, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” (Rev. 4:8)

            One day we join that heavenly chorus – no tryouts needed.  One day we celebrate the eternal reunion of all believers in Christ and with our loving and gracious God.  One day the promise we hear in church and read in our Bible will be our reality.  Home at last.  But until then remember . . . “If I Don’t See You In This Life, I’ll See You In The Next.”

                                                            Amen.