Reflections on "Listening to Jesus" Matthew 21: 1-11; John 3: 1-15

Not much to add to this sermon.  Love the story in John.  It did not add to the sermon's content particularly, but I did note in the sermon that I preached that in John darkness means confusion and not quite understanding. Thus, when Nicodemus comes to see Jesus in the dark, he is confused and does not understand; Jesus, of course, is the light that shines on our darkness.

I decided to tie the week's chapter with Palm Sunday, and although that's not the context Nouwen had for this chapter, I think it worked well.  In fact, I may have done a better job of incorporating Nouwen's chapter without being confined by it than I have done in other weeks.

“Listening to Jesus” April 13, 2014; Lenten series; FPC, Troy; Matthew 21: 1-11; John 3: 1-15

Introduction: Jesus has entered Jerusalem riding a donkey with the crowds lining the streets shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is the one who comes int eh name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

As we hear the story told in the Gospel of Matthew, this leaves the whole city of Jerusalem asking, “who is this?”

Soon, they will get another chance to discover who he is as the crowds gather to shout “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

Move 1: The crowds do not know it, but soon they will be have to make a choice about whether to follow this man riding into the streets or to turn away from him.

a. Is Jesus the one to cheer as the Savior and follow into the world or is Jesus the one to ignore or even crucify?

b. It seems to me we ought to be able to identify with the crowds lining the streets of Jerusalem.

1. We too are going to have to decide whether we are going to follow Jesus in our world or listen to other voices.

2. And we might not even know when that point of decision will arrive.

3. It may be later today; or maybe tomorrow; or maybe later next week that we will be faced with a decision or confronted by a situation in which our answer will reveal whether Jesus is guiding us or something else.

100. Obviously, your presence here today indicates that you already made that decision at some point, or you are in the process of making that decision, but it's a decision that confronts us again and again.

1. Maybe not in as dramatic fashion as choosing whether we follow Jesus or join in crucifying him.

2. But again and again we find ourselves confronted with choices – choices that reveal whether we are listening to the voice of God we discover in Christ or not.

Move 2: IN many ways, this is why Henri Nouwen's letters to his nephew Marc that we have been studying this Lenten season matter – they invite us to develop a spiritual life from which we can better make decisions about how to follow Jesus.

a. Nouwen believes that we must connect with Christ in our hearts and then listen to our hearts.

1. Following Jesus cannot be done by memorizing a set of answers about Jesus.

2. Wouldn't it be nice if we merely had to learn a half dozen, or maybe a dozen response answers about Jesus that would apply in the specifics to every single situation we might encounter.

3. But following Christ is not about memorizing answers, it is about “being attentive at all time to the voice of God's love inviting us to obey, that is make a generous response.”

4. Think about the variety of decisions that might confr4ont you in the coming days:
5. We will probably face issues about how to respond in relationships – how to foster loving relationships or repair broken one.
6. Or we may have to develop the criteria to use when making a decision about our future.
7. or we may find ourselves making decisions about a loved one's medical issues.
8. Or we may encounter injustice or people in dire need of help.
9. How do we make what Nouwen calls a generous response? By being connected with Christ in our hearts.

b. That's why Nouwen has referenced the story we read in the Gospel of John about Nicodemus.

1. Nicodemus is coming to Jesus looking for answers.

2. Jesus reminds Nicodemus that he is a teacher, he should know where to find answers.

3. but I suspect Nicodemus problem may be that he is in fact a teacher. He's looking for book answers.

4. but Jesus is calling him to be born again – not born from the womb a second time, but born again spiritually.

         5. For Nicodemus to follow Jesus, for us to follow Jesus demands us to grow spiritually.

c. In addition to listening to the heart, Nouwen also invites Marc and us to listen to the church and to listen to the Bible.

1. By listening to the church, he specifically notes we should take part in the church's liturgical life, which unites us “more and more intimately with the divine life he [Jesus] offers]” (83).
2. 2. In other words, as we go through the seasons of the church the follow the life, death and resurrection of Christ, we begin to recognize who Jesus is.

3. as Nouwen invites us to listen to God's Word, he again emphasizes how the spiritual life is different than the way of the world. Instead of reading just for the sake of gaining knowledge, or “owning” the word, allow God's word to work its way into your heart.

500. Once again, we are back to allowing Christ into our hearts.

1. Nouwen gives us a concrete way to allow Christ into our hearts – 10 minutes of prayer each day.

2. nouwen suggests that “ten minutes each day for Jesus alone [prayer] can bring about a radical change in your life (84).

Conclusion: Palm Sunday sets the stage for decisions to be made.

Who or what is going to be the guiding force in our lives? Jesus, or someone or something else?

A decision we revisit again and again.

All of Jerusalem wants to know. Who is this man? And our answer is revealed through our spiritual lives.