April 21, 2008

EASTER 5

Homecoming

Before we begin, I want to say a word about our first reading, Acts 7:1-2, 51-60. Stephen is to be stoned by the crowd. In verse 58, they lay their coats at the foot of a man named Saul. Our church is named after Saul, who took the name of Paul. Saul does not throw stones at Stephen; he holds the coats, as it were, of his attackers. He is aiding in the commission of a crime, by standing and doing nothing to stop it. Is it also not true of ourselves today, when we see injustice happening, that when we do nothing, we are just like Saul?

Be it ever so humble…

Someone once said that home is the place that when you show up, they have to let you in. It should have been Jesus.

In John 14:2, Jesus says “In my father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” He is talking about home. A comfortable place, a safe place, a place for intimacy and family, a personal place, the place that when you show up, they have to let you in.

Awfully powerful words for someone born homeless. His mother gave birth in a barn. His family fleeing for foreign fields as fugitives in Egypt; illegal aliens on the run from King Herod’s henchmen.

Awfully powerful words for the itinerant preacher without a place to rest his head at night.

Awfully powerful words spoken to those who had left hearth and home, family and friends to follow this itinerant preacher.

Awfully bold words often read at funerals because it offers hope, a home beyond the bleak grave. Bold words of hope and life. An eternal home. No use having a big house, if you can’t use it.

This scripture is read a lot because it is descriptive and it is hopeful. “A promised home:” revolutionary words for those in our land that hide in the shadows because they are not welcome in our country. Liberating words to the peasant in Africa, the displaced in New Orleans, and the refugee in Iraq. We can see why this scripture is used a lot.

And this scripture is misused a lot. “I am the way, the truth and the life” can sound exclusionary. It sounds as if you have to believe a certain way or you will be forever in punishment and damnation. Oh, how the Gospel is perverted! It sounds harsh. It is not. People who use it that way miss the whole point of the passage. It is instead an open, compassionate, and liberal understanding about the goodness and wideness of God’s mercy.

Most scholars point out that Jesus did not say “no one comes to ‘God’ except through me. He said “no one comes to the Father.” As a church that values scripture, we know that the author John chose his words carefully, and each word is intentional.

So what is He talking about? One of the things that constantly confounded the confused disciples, offended the rigidly religious and scared the prestigious and powerful was just how intimately Jesus spoke of God. He called him Daddy; Abba often translated as Father but actually Abba is Daddy.

He spoke of God as a loving parent, and He preached that God was intimately involved in the life of the poor. How could he know God’s will they wondered. Isn’t this Mary and Joseph’s son? And in this text, he is at it again. He is speaking intimately with God.

Every time Jesus uses the word father in the Gospels he is describing the relationship he has with God. So when Jesus says He is the way the truth and the life, the route to the father and the way home (that is, the very presence of God), he is inviting the disciples to have the same relationship that He has with God.

In other words, Jesus is not excluding anyone from God’s kingdom. He is instead inviting the disciples into His family. He is not restricting those who are welcomed. He is simply explaining how welcome everyone is. He is setting a new paradigm of family; one that is inclusive, eternal and intentionally intimate with God.

As a kid, when I would go off to a friend’s house to spend the night, my parents would always say “remember who you are.” It was a way of saying “remember that you represent us, remember that you are connected to us, remember that your actions reflect on your family. Remember you are a part. They reminded me how to behave by reminding me who I was.

It seems that Jesus was really saying much the same thing. He was reminding the disciples that He was connected to them, and they were connected to Him. This family tie, this life under one roof, this common family was God’s family. Jesus was reminding the disciples who they were by reminding them who He was.

Jesus was bringing home the point that they were in God’s family. This is another one of those “why we go to church” sermons.

But it is important to be reminded that we are a part of something much bigger than ourselves.

We get so caught up in the world sometimes that we forget the one who loves us the most. It seems that our lifestyles, the constant hurry and worry is more important our lives. Jesus was addressing that very issue with the disciples.

Our lifestyles can lose luster, but with sufficient cash flow, they can be improved; our lives, on the other hand, are more desperate and in need of being saved. It is worthy of note, then, that Jesus, gathered with His disciples around the table for the last meal before His death, pointed down the road he would soon be traveling and said “I am the way and the truth and the life.” He did not say “I am the way, the truth and the lifestyle.”

- The Reverend Phil Gaines

And so today like disciples of old, we are reminded that our lives are sacred because they are intimately tied to God. Our lives, each, sometimes broken and often drifting, are not lost. When you have a home you always have a place to go. Remember who you are.




		EASTER 5 Homecoming Before we begin, I want to say a word about our first reading, Acts 7:1-2, 51-60. Stephen is to be stoned by the crowd. In verse 58, they lay their coats at the foot of a man named Saul. Our church is named after Saul, who took the name of Paul. Saul does not throw stones at Stephen; he holds the coats, as it were, of his attackers. He is aiding in the commission of a crime, by standing and doing nothing to stop it. Is it also not true of ourselves today, when we see injustice happening, that when we do nothing, we are just like Saul? Be it ever so humble… Someone once said that home is the place that when you show up, they have to let you in. It should have been Jesus. In John 14:2, Jesus says “In my father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” He is talking about home. A comfortable place, a safe place, a place for intimacy and family, a personal place, the place that when you show up, they have to let you in. Awfully powerful words for someone born homeless. His mother gave birth in a barn. His family fleeing for foreign fields as fugitives in Egypt; illegal aliens on the run from King Herod’s henchmen. Awfully powerful words for the itinerant preacher without a place to rest his head at night. Awfully powerful words spoken to those who had left hearth and home, family and friends to follow this itinerant preacher. Awfully bold words often read at funerals because it offers hope, a home beyond the bleak grave. Bold words of hope and life. An eternal home. No use having a big house, if you can’t use it. This scripture is read a lot because it is descriptive and it is hopeful. “A promised home:” revolutionary words for those in our land that hide in the shadows because they are not welcome in our country. Liberating words to the peasant in Africa, the displaced in New Orleans, and the refugee in Iraq. We can see why this scripture is used a lot. And this scripture is misused a lot. “I am the way, the truth and the life” can sound exclusionary. It sounds as if you have to believe a certain way or you will be forever in punishment and damnation. Oh, how the Gospel is perverted! It sounds harsh. It is not. People who use it that way miss the whole point of the passage. It is instead an open, compassionate, and liberal understanding about the goodness and wideness of God’s mercy. Most scholars point out that Jesus did not say “no one comes to ‘God’ except through me. He said “no one comes to the Father.” As a church that values scripture, we know that the author John chose his words carefully, and each word is intentional. So what is He talking about? One of the things that constantly confounded the confused disciples, offended the rigidly religious and scared the prestigious and powerful was just how intimately Jesus spoke of God. He called him Daddy; Abba often translated as Father but actually Abba is Daddy. He spoke of God as a loving parent, and He preached that God was intimately involved in the life of the poor. How could he know God’s will they wondered. Isn’t this Mary and Joseph’s son? And in this text, he is at it again. He is speaking intimately with God. Every time Jesus uses the word father in the Gospels he is describing the relationship he has with God. So when Jesus says He is the way the truth and the life, the route to the father and the way home (that is, the very presence of God), he is inviting the disciples to have the same relationship that He has with God. In other words, Jesus is not excluding anyone from God’s kingdom. He is instead inviting the disciples into His family. He is not restricting those who are welcomed. He is simply explaining how welcome everyone is. He is setting a new paradigm of family; one that is inclusive, eternal and intentionally intimate with God. As a kid, when I would go off to a friend’s house to spend the night, my parents would always say “remember who you are.” It was a way of saying “remember that you represent us, remember that you are connected to us, remember that your actions reflect on your family. Remember you are a part. They reminded me how to behave by reminding me who I was. It seems that Jesus was really saying much the same thing. He was reminding the disciples that He was connected to them, and they were connected to Him. This family tie, this life under one roof, this common family was God’s family. Jesus was reminding the disciples who they were by reminding them who He was. Jesus was bringing home the point that they were in God’s family. This is another one of those “why we go to church” sermons. But it is important to be reminded that we are a part of something much bigger than ourselves. We get so caught up in the world sometimes that we forget the one who loves us the most. It seems that our lifestyles, the constant hurry and worry is more important our lives. Jesus was addressing that very issue with the disciples. Our lifestyles can lose luster, but with sufficient cash flow, they can be improved; our lives, on the other hand, are more desperate and in need of being saved. It is worthy of note, then, that Jesus, gathered with His disciples around the table for the last meal before His death, pointed down the road he would soon be traveling and said “I am the way and the truth and the life.” He did not say “I am the way, the truth and the lifestyle.” - The Reverend Phil Gaines And so today like disciples of old, we are reminded that our lives are sacred because they are intimately tied to God. Our lives, each, sometimes broken and often drifting, are not lost. When you have a home you always have a place to go. Remember who you are.