Sunday Of The Passion
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle B
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Isaiah 50:4-9a (C); Isaiah 50:4-7 (RC)
Third Isaiah had faced resistance and mistreatment of many kinds, but he is adamant in his determination to be faithful to God.
Lesson 1: Isaiah 45:21-25 (E)
Lesson 2: Philippians 2:5-11 (C, E); Philippians 2:6-11 (RC)
If we wanted to find one Bible passage which completely summarizes the incarnation, it would be this one. For many years of my early Christian life I struggled with the question: how can Jesus be part human and part divine? That's like being short and tall at the same time. If, on the one hand, Jesus was really divine, then it is only a sham to contend that he faced life as I do. Dostoyevsky, who grew up in luxury, once left his house and chose to live with his father's servants so he could share their lives, learn what it's really like to live in virtual slavery. But he finally realized that whereas those men could never be sure whether they'd have jobs or livelihood tomorrow, he lived in perfect assurance of a comfortable future. It could never be the same for him. So with Jesus. If he could look in the future, and knew what happens when you die, and didn't have to worry about his health „ then he did not face life as I do.
On the other hand, if Jesus was human, then he does understand what my life is like. But a drowning man cannot save a drowning man. If Jesus was human, then how can I see him as a manifestation of God, unique, one of a kind?
This still doesn't answer my dilemma perfectly, but it helps. Paul here tells us that Jesus was, indeed, born with "the nature of God," but he elected to set that state aside; he literally "gave up all he had" so that he could experience life as I do. I always like the scene in the Garden as recorded by Luke where Jesus is reported to have prayed in great anguish and sweat like drops of blood coursed down his face. I've felt like that a time or two myself. That's not the reaction of a man who privately knows how this thing is all going to turn out. So this passage enables me at once to believe that Jesus is indeed divine, yet suffered as I did and therefore understood what my life is like. Therefore, I would preach on the doctrine of the Incarnation.
Incidentally, this passage is actually an ancient hymn from the early church according to some commentaries. Whether Paul wrote this or borrowed it, this certainly expresses Paul's understanding of the Christ story. Jesus, unique, a manifestation of God made visible upon this earth, realizing that only by sharing existence with us could he lead us to God, completely emptied himself of all divine characteristics in order to accomplish that very end. Thereafter, he became a servant to all people, totally rejecting all pride or self-promotion, giving himself as an example of the way God would have all of us live. When it became evident that the consequence of this would be his own death, Jesus was obedient to his calling and went to his death in order to reveal, once and for all, the love which is ours from God. Thus, unless we're crazy in the head, we will follow him there.
Gospel: Mark 14:1„15:47 (C, RC); Mark (14:32-72) 15:1-39 (40-47) (E)
This is a very long passage if you try to use it entirely. Let me share something I learned many years ago. One Sunday, I read scripture as usual, then I asked the entire congregation to fold their bulletins. "No fair peeking," I asked them to write down the scripture reference they had just heard. Or, I asked them to write something from the brief passage just read. In fact, write anything they could about what they had just heard. Then I asked everyone to pass their bulletins to the aisle, where they were collected by ushers. I was preaching on worship that Sunday, so the ushers tabulated the results during the sermon, then passed a note to me near my close. I had to report that less than thirty percent of the congregation had absorbed enough of the passage to make an intelligent response. I learned from this that most people are visual learners. Their minds had simply wandered during the reading of the Bible passage. From that day forward, we printed the passage in the bulletin, and I would ask everyone to join me in reading (to themselves) while I read the passage publicly.
Two comments about that. One, I still like having the passage printed even though there are pew Bibles. Many people won't use those, but they will read the bulletin. This way they can easily refer to the passage during the sermon if they wish. Second comment: I have a pet peeve. It is clergy or other public readers who insert words not there or leave words out or otherwise fail to read the printed passage precisely as printed. I discover that many clergy make this mistake.
Now, as to the story of the Passion of Jesus, I myself prefer to read publicly only a brief portion of the total passage, but would include the entire assigned passage in the bulletin. Otherwise, if my thesis about visual learners is correct, we will soon lose a large portion of our worshipers.
Mark 14:1-9 would be a good sermon. The woman who broke the alabaster jar of perfume was making what Jesus' friends considered an outrageous gesture, wasting what at that time was a valuable medium of exchange. But of course it wasn't really wasted. On the contrary, it was a rare act of sacrificial love. Jesus said it: "She has done a fine and beautiful thing for me." However, this isn't the primary emphasis for the Sunday so I'd probably preach on this at some other time. By the way, that causes me to make a somewhat heretical observation. Although for years I was a lectionary preacher, I was never slavish about it. There were Sundays when I felt called to preach on a non-lection passage. Not too often. But this is, after all, a generalized set of Bible passages for the entire Church, and the local pastor is the best judge of a needed text on a given Sunday.
Another sermon possibility is Mark 14:16-21. The betrayal. It wouldn't hurt any of us to be reminded that there could be nothing worse than to embrace Christ, to love him and follow him for a while, then turn away. Yet that's the very temptation which presents itself to each of us constantly. I recall a novel about a bright, idealistic young man who pledged to his bride that he would try to do something wonderful with his life. He fancied himself a knight on a white charger, facing difficulties, making this world a better place for all. But years passed. He became enamored of the material things of life. The day came when his wife realized her husband had become a compromiser, a deceiver. She reminded him of his long-ago zeal to use his life in a worthy way. His reply: "I know, but I was young then. I didn't understand how the world really works."
Of course a Communion sermon is a possibility „ Mark 14:22-26. That passage or the comparable passage in the other Gospels will come before us at other times as well. It might, however, be good for Passion/Palm Sunday, preparation for Easter.
Peter's denial. This might be incorporated into the betrayal idea. Judas was self-centered, fundamentally dishonest. Peter, on the other hand, was a good man but frightened, just as I would have been in that situation.
Then there's the prayer in Gethsemane. "Take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want" (Mark 14:32-38). This is the passage I would use, because it depicts Jesus' humanity and his obedience.
There are other passages. I suppose you could preach for the better part of a year on just this major portion of scripture. But I understand the primary focus for this Sunday to be the suffering of the innocent Lord, yet the unflinching obedience of the Lord. Surely, when we visualize Jesus on the cross, rejected by the people who loved him „ knowing that had I been there, I'd have been afraid to step forth also „ yet he looked down at me standing there like a scared dummy, loving me just as much as he had when this tragedy had not yet begun to unfold, when I realize I can go on doing this, over and over and over, and that unbreakable bond of love is still intact, how can I not bow down and call him Lord?
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Standing Firm"
Text: Isaiah 50:4-9a
Theme: Some years ago, a Methodist Bishop of national renown was asked to speak at an annual conference of that church. It so happened he had recently taken a strong stand on a very controversial issue and was being criticized rather widely among some of the brethren, not always with a lot of charity. So the Bishop spoke on the text of Jonah and the Great Fish. After acknowledging that others had a right to their own opinions on the issue so long as they were expressed in a Christian way, he then made this memorable observation: "I am willing to be consumed by a great fish. I am not willing to be nibbled to death by minnows."
This came to mind as we examined the subject text today. It appears that Isaiah was experiencing a lot of opposition in his work, not all of it by people of integrity. He expressed two sentiments „ his willingness to accept the fact that a person in a position of high visibility must endure criticism, some of it destructive, and his conviction that with God's help, he'd be able to endure and triumph in what he was convinced was right.
1. We all must face criticism. The more visible our vocations, the more vulnerable we are. Some of the criticism will be justified, and a Christian must be willing to consider that possibility.
2. We must be able to stand fast in what we believe to be right, even in the face of criticism and threat.
3. When we are faithful, and provided we act from worthy motives, God will sustain us in this effort.
Title: "The Attitude You Should Have"
Text: Philippians 2:5-11
Theme: This is a profound statement. One commentary calls it the most beautiful thing Paul wrote. Certainly it expresses his (and my) idea of the nature of Jesus. And Paul states that's "the attitude you should have" (Good News Version). So:
1. We are to "give up" our drive for possessions and recognition. This doesn't mean we are not to live in nice homes or strive for success in our occupations. But it does mean that we are to be generous with our possessions, and we are to succeed on the basis of two rules of life: help and benefit other people, and do our work by the ethical rules which elsewhere, we were told, are "written on our hearts."
2. We are to be obedient to the will of God. Now I realize there are a great many situations in which we dare not say, "This is God's will." Questions like: "Shall we buy a new house? Which car should I drive? Where should I go to college?" God may have a choice, but these aren't ethical issues and we can't be sure of God's will. But questions like these: "Should I tell her the truth? Will anyone ever know if I take this even though it isn't officially mine? Does it do any real harm if I pass this nasty little secret along?" We do know God's will in these situations.
3. We are to make time in our day and our week for worship. I'm not a believer in religious obsession. We all have work to do. But our lives will be dramatically empowered when we make time each day for prayer, and our lives will be enriched if we make worship at least a weekly part of life. "And all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord," wrote Paul.
Title: "Facing Life's Unpleasantness"
Text: Mark 14:32-38
Theme: This has always been for me a powerful scene, Jesus in Gethsemane, praying for the strength and courage to face his last hours. James Stewart makes the point that Jesus wasn't afraid to die. After all, many an early-day martyr went to his or her death with a song on his lips. Jesus was struggling with the sadness of the necessity to accept upon himself the sin of the world. That's a rather nebulous idea for most people today, and the preacher needs to make that generality a concretion. Still, I sense that Jesus was facing his own deep uncertainties. Better, he must surely have thought, to continue on with his work than die so soon. There was very little evidence at the time to lead Jesus to believe that if it all ended here his mission would be successful. I guess no one can know what was in Jesus' heart in these hours. But this we know: Jesus believed it was God's will that he face what lay ahead without seeking to escape, that he not allow himself to feel hatred for the people who were doing this to him, and that total obedience to God will always result in the very best outcome of any situation. I think, therefore, that this might be a possible sermon outline:
1. Jesus believed he must face his fate without fear. Likewise, we all must face unpleasant, sometimes frightening events in our lives and, if the cause is righteous, we are to remain firm.
2. Jesus refused to hate the people who misused him. We are to learn the way of forgiveness and nonviolence.
3. Jesus believed that obedience to the will of God would always result in the best possible outcome to any situation. We are to so believe as well.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Ann Landers included in her column a poem which concluded with these lines: "I am willing to trust in thy mercy, to keep the commandments thou'st taught. But deliver me, Lord, from the judgment of the saints who have never been caught."
____________
Some criticism is legitimate. I recall the time a woman came to me shortly after I had begun a new ministry. I was young and trying to teach a confirmation class of seventh and eighth graders. Her daughter was in my class and in very gentle terms she shared a concern. Her words were something like this: "You're doing such a good job in so many ways here, Reverend, I hate to seem critical. But my daughter feels she isn't getting much out of her class. Of course it may be her fault, but I just wanted to share this feeling with you."
I thanked the woman and asked if I might take a day to reflect before responding, but inwardly I felt anger at being criticized. However, that evening I began replaying the last couple class sessions. As I did, it began to be clear that I wasn't doing nearly as well as I'd like to have thought. By the time I called that mother, I knew her criticism was correct and I thanked her and told her so. There were two results of this. First, I was able to improve the way I taught the class. Second, she and I became good friends. I learned from this to bite my tongue, as it were, when criticized until I could reflect and pray about the situation. After all, no one is always right and it behooves even the most firmly convinced person to stop and reexamine. Sometimes we're wrong.
____________
Debbie Kinkade, a nurse in the emergency room at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, is soon to die. She knows this. She has terminal cancer and it has progressed beyond the point where it can be halted. Debbie is 44 years old and her photo appeared in the local paper recently. She was smiling. Standing alongside Debbie was her son Brandon. She assures her son that she is willing to die and that because of this, she plans to be his guardian angel.
Some time ago, a woman received medical treatment at the hospital. She had fallen and injured her hip. When it was found that the hip was not broken, the woman was dismissed. But she had no one to take her home. Debbie took some time off and drove the woman home. She got in trouble for this because of legal problems had there been an accident or other further injury to the woman. But Debbie kept her job because she was such a good nurse.
There's more to Debbie's story. When she was a teenager she fell in with a gang. She carried a switchblade knife, was constantly in trouble. She vandalized cars, stole, once slapped her high school principal in the face, then left school. But that principal thought she had seen something in Debbie, something worth saving. She asked her to come back to school and gave her a job taking temperatures of other students in the nurse's office. Then it was discovered that all of Debbie's friends were being sent home with suspiciously high temperatures. However, she did like doing that kind of work. The principal then arranged for Debbie to become a candy striper in the hospital and that saved her. She was surprised to discover that she loved helping people when they were sick. So she became a nurse.
This story can be used in two ways. That principal must be a wonderful woman to have persevered in helping a troubled young girl get on the right track. And Debbie's good spirit in facing suffering and death „ continuing to work helping others as long as she can „ is a wonderful example of someone who faces tragedy with courage and love. If you believe in such things, you must believe that Debbie Kinkade will make a wonderful guardian angel for her son.
____________
One Dr. White, a highly respected clergyman, was approached by church members who had decided to invite a certain evangelist to town for a series of tent meetings. This was a more conservative approach to the faith than Dr. White preferred, so he told them they were free to do this but he hoped they would excuse him from participation. It so happened there was a local fellow who had struggled with alcohol for many years, getting in minor trouble and failing vocationally. But Dr. White had been a faithful friend, trying to encourage this parishioner to win out over his problems. We'll call the man Ed Smith.
The evening of the first tent meeting, a parishioner knocked on Dr. White's parsonage door to inform him that the visiting preacher had publicly shamed Ed Smith, calling him a drunk and a failure in life. Dr. White immediately became angry at this defamation and spluttered his anger in the presence of the lady who had brought the news.
It seems the visiting lady, privately amused at this outburst, decided to further fuel the fires of Dr. White's anger. "Not only that," she informed him, "but this preacher also used your name and said you were no Christian and not a good minister to remain away from a great service like his." She awaited what she anticipated to be an even more vocal reaction. But instead, Dr. White was silent for a long moment. Then he said, "You must excuse me. That's a serious accusation and I must be alone to pray and think about it."
Perhaps there's a lesson there for us. If we're to take a responsible role in life we'll inevitably have to step forth and say things and do things and believe things with which others won't agree. At times we'll be opposed, often criticized. Sometimes our critics will be right, sometimes not. As Christians we should not be turned away from our honest convictions out of fear of criticism or controversy. Through our prayer life we can find the courage to continue on. If we're in the right, God will sustain us and help us. But Jesus taught that while we are to act with courage, we are to do this also with respect for and love for others.
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 31:9-16 (C) „ "Be gracious to me, O Lord."
Psalm 22:1-21 (RC, E) „ "My God, why have you forsaken me?"
Prayer Of The Day
Dear God, be with us as we face difficult days ahead. There are those among us who tremble in the knowledge of risks they must face. Be with such, we pray. Amen.
Lesson 1: Isaiah 50:4-9a (C); Isaiah 50:4-7 (RC)
Third Isaiah had faced resistance and mistreatment of many kinds, but he is adamant in his determination to be faithful to God.
Lesson 1: Isaiah 45:21-25 (E)
Lesson 2: Philippians 2:5-11 (C, E); Philippians 2:6-11 (RC)
If we wanted to find one Bible passage which completely summarizes the incarnation, it would be this one. For many years of my early Christian life I struggled with the question: how can Jesus be part human and part divine? That's like being short and tall at the same time. If, on the one hand, Jesus was really divine, then it is only a sham to contend that he faced life as I do. Dostoyevsky, who grew up in luxury, once left his house and chose to live with his father's servants so he could share their lives, learn what it's really like to live in virtual slavery. But he finally realized that whereas those men could never be sure whether they'd have jobs or livelihood tomorrow, he lived in perfect assurance of a comfortable future. It could never be the same for him. So with Jesus. If he could look in the future, and knew what happens when you die, and didn't have to worry about his health „ then he did not face life as I do.
On the other hand, if Jesus was human, then he does understand what my life is like. But a drowning man cannot save a drowning man. If Jesus was human, then how can I see him as a manifestation of God, unique, one of a kind?
This still doesn't answer my dilemma perfectly, but it helps. Paul here tells us that Jesus was, indeed, born with "the nature of God," but he elected to set that state aside; he literally "gave up all he had" so that he could experience life as I do. I always like the scene in the Garden as recorded by Luke where Jesus is reported to have prayed in great anguish and sweat like drops of blood coursed down his face. I've felt like that a time or two myself. That's not the reaction of a man who privately knows how this thing is all going to turn out. So this passage enables me at once to believe that Jesus is indeed divine, yet suffered as I did and therefore understood what my life is like. Therefore, I would preach on the doctrine of the Incarnation.
Incidentally, this passage is actually an ancient hymn from the early church according to some commentaries. Whether Paul wrote this or borrowed it, this certainly expresses Paul's understanding of the Christ story. Jesus, unique, a manifestation of God made visible upon this earth, realizing that only by sharing existence with us could he lead us to God, completely emptied himself of all divine characteristics in order to accomplish that very end. Thereafter, he became a servant to all people, totally rejecting all pride or self-promotion, giving himself as an example of the way God would have all of us live. When it became evident that the consequence of this would be his own death, Jesus was obedient to his calling and went to his death in order to reveal, once and for all, the love which is ours from God. Thus, unless we're crazy in the head, we will follow him there.
Gospel: Mark 14:1„15:47 (C, RC); Mark (14:32-72) 15:1-39 (40-47) (E)
This is a very long passage if you try to use it entirely. Let me share something I learned many years ago. One Sunday, I read scripture as usual, then I asked the entire congregation to fold their bulletins. "No fair peeking," I asked them to write down the scripture reference they had just heard. Or, I asked them to write something from the brief passage just read. In fact, write anything they could about what they had just heard. Then I asked everyone to pass their bulletins to the aisle, where they were collected by ushers. I was preaching on worship that Sunday, so the ushers tabulated the results during the sermon, then passed a note to me near my close. I had to report that less than thirty percent of the congregation had absorbed enough of the passage to make an intelligent response. I learned from this that most people are visual learners. Their minds had simply wandered during the reading of the Bible passage. From that day forward, we printed the passage in the bulletin, and I would ask everyone to join me in reading (to themselves) while I read the passage publicly.
Two comments about that. One, I still like having the passage printed even though there are pew Bibles. Many people won't use those, but they will read the bulletin. This way they can easily refer to the passage during the sermon if they wish. Second comment: I have a pet peeve. It is clergy or other public readers who insert words not there or leave words out or otherwise fail to read the printed passage precisely as printed. I discover that many clergy make this mistake.
Now, as to the story of the Passion of Jesus, I myself prefer to read publicly only a brief portion of the total passage, but would include the entire assigned passage in the bulletin. Otherwise, if my thesis about visual learners is correct, we will soon lose a large portion of our worshipers.
Mark 14:1-9 would be a good sermon. The woman who broke the alabaster jar of perfume was making what Jesus' friends considered an outrageous gesture, wasting what at that time was a valuable medium of exchange. But of course it wasn't really wasted. On the contrary, it was a rare act of sacrificial love. Jesus said it: "She has done a fine and beautiful thing for me." However, this isn't the primary emphasis for the Sunday so I'd probably preach on this at some other time. By the way, that causes me to make a somewhat heretical observation. Although for years I was a lectionary preacher, I was never slavish about it. There were Sundays when I felt called to preach on a non-lection passage. Not too often. But this is, after all, a generalized set of Bible passages for the entire Church, and the local pastor is the best judge of a needed text on a given Sunday.
Another sermon possibility is Mark 14:16-21. The betrayal. It wouldn't hurt any of us to be reminded that there could be nothing worse than to embrace Christ, to love him and follow him for a while, then turn away. Yet that's the very temptation which presents itself to each of us constantly. I recall a novel about a bright, idealistic young man who pledged to his bride that he would try to do something wonderful with his life. He fancied himself a knight on a white charger, facing difficulties, making this world a better place for all. But years passed. He became enamored of the material things of life. The day came when his wife realized her husband had become a compromiser, a deceiver. She reminded him of his long-ago zeal to use his life in a worthy way. His reply: "I know, but I was young then. I didn't understand how the world really works."
Of course a Communion sermon is a possibility „ Mark 14:22-26. That passage or the comparable passage in the other Gospels will come before us at other times as well. It might, however, be good for Passion/Palm Sunday, preparation for Easter.
Peter's denial. This might be incorporated into the betrayal idea. Judas was self-centered, fundamentally dishonest. Peter, on the other hand, was a good man but frightened, just as I would have been in that situation.
Then there's the prayer in Gethsemane. "Take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want" (Mark 14:32-38). This is the passage I would use, because it depicts Jesus' humanity and his obedience.
There are other passages. I suppose you could preach for the better part of a year on just this major portion of scripture. But I understand the primary focus for this Sunday to be the suffering of the innocent Lord, yet the unflinching obedience of the Lord. Surely, when we visualize Jesus on the cross, rejected by the people who loved him „ knowing that had I been there, I'd have been afraid to step forth also „ yet he looked down at me standing there like a scared dummy, loving me just as much as he had when this tragedy had not yet begun to unfold, when I realize I can go on doing this, over and over and over, and that unbreakable bond of love is still intact, how can I not bow down and call him Lord?
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Standing Firm"
Text: Isaiah 50:4-9a
Theme: Some years ago, a Methodist Bishop of national renown was asked to speak at an annual conference of that church. It so happened he had recently taken a strong stand on a very controversial issue and was being criticized rather widely among some of the brethren, not always with a lot of charity. So the Bishop spoke on the text of Jonah and the Great Fish. After acknowledging that others had a right to their own opinions on the issue so long as they were expressed in a Christian way, he then made this memorable observation: "I am willing to be consumed by a great fish. I am not willing to be nibbled to death by minnows."
This came to mind as we examined the subject text today. It appears that Isaiah was experiencing a lot of opposition in his work, not all of it by people of integrity. He expressed two sentiments „ his willingness to accept the fact that a person in a position of high visibility must endure criticism, some of it destructive, and his conviction that with God's help, he'd be able to endure and triumph in what he was convinced was right.
1. We all must face criticism. The more visible our vocations, the more vulnerable we are. Some of the criticism will be justified, and a Christian must be willing to consider that possibility.
2. We must be able to stand fast in what we believe to be right, even in the face of criticism and threat.
3. When we are faithful, and provided we act from worthy motives, God will sustain us in this effort.
Title: "The Attitude You Should Have"
Text: Philippians 2:5-11
Theme: This is a profound statement. One commentary calls it the most beautiful thing Paul wrote. Certainly it expresses his (and my) idea of the nature of Jesus. And Paul states that's "the attitude you should have" (Good News Version). So:
1. We are to "give up" our drive for possessions and recognition. This doesn't mean we are not to live in nice homes or strive for success in our occupations. But it does mean that we are to be generous with our possessions, and we are to succeed on the basis of two rules of life: help and benefit other people, and do our work by the ethical rules which elsewhere, we were told, are "written on our hearts."
2. We are to be obedient to the will of God. Now I realize there are a great many situations in which we dare not say, "This is God's will." Questions like: "Shall we buy a new house? Which car should I drive? Where should I go to college?" God may have a choice, but these aren't ethical issues and we can't be sure of God's will. But questions like these: "Should I tell her the truth? Will anyone ever know if I take this even though it isn't officially mine? Does it do any real harm if I pass this nasty little secret along?" We do know God's will in these situations.
3. We are to make time in our day and our week for worship. I'm not a believer in religious obsession. We all have work to do. But our lives will be dramatically empowered when we make time each day for prayer, and our lives will be enriched if we make worship at least a weekly part of life. "And all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord," wrote Paul.
Title: "Facing Life's Unpleasantness"
Text: Mark 14:32-38
Theme: This has always been for me a powerful scene, Jesus in Gethsemane, praying for the strength and courage to face his last hours. James Stewart makes the point that Jesus wasn't afraid to die. After all, many an early-day martyr went to his or her death with a song on his lips. Jesus was struggling with the sadness of the necessity to accept upon himself the sin of the world. That's a rather nebulous idea for most people today, and the preacher needs to make that generality a concretion. Still, I sense that Jesus was facing his own deep uncertainties. Better, he must surely have thought, to continue on with his work than die so soon. There was very little evidence at the time to lead Jesus to believe that if it all ended here his mission would be successful. I guess no one can know what was in Jesus' heart in these hours. But this we know: Jesus believed it was God's will that he face what lay ahead without seeking to escape, that he not allow himself to feel hatred for the people who were doing this to him, and that total obedience to God will always result in the very best outcome of any situation. I think, therefore, that this might be a possible sermon outline:
1. Jesus believed he must face his fate without fear. Likewise, we all must face unpleasant, sometimes frightening events in our lives and, if the cause is righteous, we are to remain firm.
2. Jesus refused to hate the people who misused him. We are to learn the way of forgiveness and nonviolence.
3. Jesus believed that obedience to the will of God would always result in the best possible outcome to any situation. We are to so believe as well.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Ann Landers included in her column a poem which concluded with these lines: "I am willing to trust in thy mercy, to keep the commandments thou'st taught. But deliver me, Lord, from the judgment of the saints who have never been caught."
____________
Some criticism is legitimate. I recall the time a woman came to me shortly after I had begun a new ministry. I was young and trying to teach a confirmation class of seventh and eighth graders. Her daughter was in my class and in very gentle terms she shared a concern. Her words were something like this: "You're doing such a good job in so many ways here, Reverend, I hate to seem critical. But my daughter feels she isn't getting much out of her class. Of course it may be her fault, but I just wanted to share this feeling with you."
I thanked the woman and asked if I might take a day to reflect before responding, but inwardly I felt anger at being criticized. However, that evening I began replaying the last couple class sessions. As I did, it began to be clear that I wasn't doing nearly as well as I'd like to have thought. By the time I called that mother, I knew her criticism was correct and I thanked her and told her so. There were two results of this. First, I was able to improve the way I taught the class. Second, she and I became good friends. I learned from this to bite my tongue, as it were, when criticized until I could reflect and pray about the situation. After all, no one is always right and it behooves even the most firmly convinced person to stop and reexamine. Sometimes we're wrong.
____________
Debbie Kinkade, a nurse in the emergency room at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, is soon to die. She knows this. She has terminal cancer and it has progressed beyond the point where it can be halted. Debbie is 44 years old and her photo appeared in the local paper recently. She was smiling. Standing alongside Debbie was her son Brandon. She assures her son that she is willing to die and that because of this, she plans to be his guardian angel.
Some time ago, a woman received medical treatment at the hospital. She had fallen and injured her hip. When it was found that the hip was not broken, the woman was dismissed. But she had no one to take her home. Debbie took some time off and drove the woman home. She got in trouble for this because of legal problems had there been an accident or other further injury to the woman. But Debbie kept her job because she was such a good nurse.
There's more to Debbie's story. When she was a teenager she fell in with a gang. She carried a switchblade knife, was constantly in trouble. She vandalized cars, stole, once slapped her high school principal in the face, then left school. But that principal thought she had seen something in Debbie, something worth saving. She asked her to come back to school and gave her a job taking temperatures of other students in the nurse's office. Then it was discovered that all of Debbie's friends were being sent home with suspiciously high temperatures. However, she did like doing that kind of work. The principal then arranged for Debbie to become a candy striper in the hospital and that saved her. She was surprised to discover that she loved helping people when they were sick. So she became a nurse.
This story can be used in two ways. That principal must be a wonderful woman to have persevered in helping a troubled young girl get on the right track. And Debbie's good spirit in facing suffering and death „ continuing to work helping others as long as she can „ is a wonderful example of someone who faces tragedy with courage and love. If you believe in such things, you must believe that Debbie Kinkade will make a wonderful guardian angel for her son.
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One Dr. White, a highly respected clergyman, was approached by church members who had decided to invite a certain evangelist to town for a series of tent meetings. This was a more conservative approach to the faith than Dr. White preferred, so he told them they were free to do this but he hoped they would excuse him from participation. It so happened there was a local fellow who had struggled with alcohol for many years, getting in minor trouble and failing vocationally. But Dr. White had been a faithful friend, trying to encourage this parishioner to win out over his problems. We'll call the man Ed Smith.
The evening of the first tent meeting, a parishioner knocked on Dr. White's parsonage door to inform him that the visiting preacher had publicly shamed Ed Smith, calling him a drunk and a failure in life. Dr. White immediately became angry at this defamation and spluttered his anger in the presence of the lady who had brought the news.
It seems the visiting lady, privately amused at this outburst, decided to further fuel the fires of Dr. White's anger. "Not only that," she informed him, "but this preacher also used your name and said you were no Christian and not a good minister to remain away from a great service like his." She awaited what she anticipated to be an even more vocal reaction. But instead, Dr. White was silent for a long moment. Then he said, "You must excuse me. That's a serious accusation and I must be alone to pray and think about it."
Perhaps there's a lesson there for us. If we're to take a responsible role in life we'll inevitably have to step forth and say things and do things and believe things with which others won't agree. At times we'll be opposed, often criticized. Sometimes our critics will be right, sometimes not. As Christians we should not be turned away from our honest convictions out of fear of criticism or controversy. Through our prayer life we can find the courage to continue on. If we're in the right, God will sustain us and help us. But Jesus taught that while we are to act with courage, we are to do this also with respect for and love for others.
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Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 31:9-16 (C) „ "Be gracious to me, O Lord."
Psalm 22:1-21 (RC, E) „ "My God, why have you forsaken me?"
Prayer Of The Day
Dear God, be with us as we face difficult days ahead. There are those among us who tremble in the knowledge of risks they must face. Be with such, we pray. Amen.
