Reflections on “Call Me Gammy” Acts 5: 27-40; Exodus 3: 1-15

This is the next-to-last sermon in the summer preaching series, "People Like Us," but it is my last sermon since our Associate Pastor will be preaching next week.  I chose to do a first-person sermon, complete with costume our Associate Pastor found for me in the Christian Education's collection of costumes!  The upside to a first-person sermon is it offers a change of pace to the normal sermon and allows the listeners to hear the story from a very personal perspective.  The downside is that it is hard to incorporate current events in the sermon and the point being made is more implicit.  I enjoyed preaching the sermon.

The text below was what was written, but I preached with no notes, so what was actually spoken probably differed quite a bit!

 “Call Me Gammy” August 30, 2020, SAPC, Denton; Acts 5: 27-40; Exodus 3: 1-15; Dr. Richard B. Culp

Acts 5: 27-40

When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,[c] yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.[d] 30 The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time. 35 Then he said to them, “Fellow Israelites,[e] consider carefully what you propose to do to these men. 36 For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and disappeared. 37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up at the time of the census and got people to follow him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God!”

They were convinced by him, 40 and when they had called in the apostles, they had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. 42 And every day in the temple and at home[f] they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah.[

Exodus 3: 1-15Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” 4 When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

7 Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. 10 So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”

13 But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”[a] He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,[b] the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:

This is my name forever,

and this my title for all generations.

Introduction: 

Move 1: Hello, it is good to meet you this morning.  My name is Gamaliel, but my friends call me Gammy.

To tell you the truth, I think lots of the younger priests and Pharisees call me Gammy as well, just not to my face!

Do I seem so serious a fella to you?  I suppose my position on the council causes 

People respect me - 

on the one hand, maybe I deserve their respect.    Not just because I am the third generation of leaders for my people, not just because I am the grandson of Hillel the Elder, the great Jewish teacher, but because I have done a few things myself.

You may have heard how I have interpreted laws related to marriage and community welfare.  

Or perhaps you have heard that kings and queens ask for my consultation. Who am I to give advice to royalty, but if they ask, I answer.

And, you undoubtedly have heard that when I speak, others on the council listen.  I like to think they listen because through the years I have given them good advice, advice in keeping with what God would approve.

On the other hand, who am I?  I am just a humble servant of God, trying my best to use my gifts of knowledge to serve my Maker.

Move 2:  I suppose you have heard we are dealing with some controversy these days.

No doubt you have been told the cause of the controversy is these men who proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ and claim he was (I guess I should say is, if he has in fact been resurrected)  the Son of God.

but as I think about this situation, it seems to me this momentary controversy is just a symptom of a bigger issue - But, the real “how do we know when something is of God.”

Some days I wish I lived in the time of Moses. No doubt Moses was not thrilled to hear God’s calling to him from a bush. No doubt Moses would have preferred to stay with the sheep instead of heading back to Egypt.  No doubt Moses thought God’s name, “I am who I am” was too ambiguous and hard to understand.

But at least he heard the voice of God.  he could perhaps choose not to do what God asked of him, but he could not say he did not know with certainty what God was asking him to do.

We hear these men make claims about resurrection and who the Messiah is, and then we have to decide if their stories are of God, or if they are just stories told by crazy men.

The people look to me for guidance, and I find myself wishing for a burning bush with the voice of God to direct.  But I find no bush.  I hear no voice.  And still, I must find a way to determine what is of God and what is not.  

If only I had a burning bush.

But who am I to be worthy of hearing the voice of God in a burning bush?  

Move 3:  What are we to do with these men creating such a ruckus now. 

They proclaim not only this man Jesus was the Messiah. I, for one, did not expect the Messiah to be so, well so human, nor did I expect him to be crucified, but then, who am I to say?  I just study the word and pray to God.

They also say this man was raised from the dead.  Buried in a tomb, and then alive three days later.

I am not opposed to resurrection in theory.  Unlike my Sadducee friends who cannot conceive of resurrection, I, along with other of my Pharisees, understand and believe in the doctrine of bodily resurrection in theory. 

But, to claim resurrection has really happened, that this man Jesus was resurrected, well that is another matter indeed.

what do they offer as proof of his resurrection?  an empty tomb.  No body in the tomb.  People saying they saw Jesus walking around.

Rumor has it that the dead body was stolen.  I have no reason to believe anyone stole the body, but that’s what the Roman centurions say happened.

Who am I to say whether someone moved the stone and stole the body or whether God moved the stone and raised the body from the dead.

Could God do that?  Of course.  Did God do that?  Who am I to say?

But my Sadducee friends have lots to say.  They demand the men shut up.

They gathered the council and put them in prison.  Somehow, the prison could not hold them.  The next morning the men were back at the Temple preaching about resurrection.

The temple police went to the ail and all the guards were still there.  The doors were still locked.  But clearly, the men were not inside because they were preaching in the Temple.  they dared to tell the 

Did some followers of Jesus bribe the guards into letting them go free in the night?

 or did the Holy Spirit lead them out of jail in the night so they could continue preaching about the resurrection of Jesus?

Who am I to say?

Move 4:  So you heard about the council meeting when they wanted to put the men to death.

some of the council members were really upset.  These men refuse to quit preaching and proclaiming the resurrection.

Death was the only way some of the council could see to end all the claims these men were making, the only way to stop people from believing them and choosing to follow this man Jesus, the one reputed to have been resurrected.

They look to me for my blessing of their desire to put them to death.

Who am I to say whether the men speak the truth about God or not?

Who am I say if they should be killed for professing their beliefs?

Besides, their idea of killing off these men has a major downside to it.

What if the men really are telling the truth?  What if Jesus really was or is the Messiah?  what if he really was resurrected?

If God can do all that, do you think God will let the death of a couple of followers stop what God is doing?

No, of course not.  If God is the one who sent Jesus, then God will find a way for the message to continue to be shared, for people to still find hope in the resurrection.  If we kill the men and they really are speaking the truth about who God is and what God has done, then we have turned against God.

What happens if what these men are saying is not true?  then it will go away.  That’s what always happens with these people who come along claiming to be the Messiah or calling for revolution.  they have momentary success, but then they just fade away.  

so I told the council that the wise move to make was to let the men keep on preaching, let them keep on making claims about resurrection.  If those are false claims, they will go away.  If they are somehow telling the truth, then it is better not to have gone against what God has put into place.

I do not think all the men on the council agreed with me, but they all went along.  they still punished the men.

I did not see any reason to punish them. But they flogged them. and what happened?  it only seemed to invigorate the men.  All those lashes, and still they go out and preach to the people about resurrection and Jesus as the Messiah.  And the people, now the people are even more amazed that these men are willing to risk punishment, maybe even death to preach about Jesus.

 

Conclusion:  You hear the stories; you hear the rumors; you have heard my wisdom on the subject. 

What do you think?  Is Jesus the Messiah?  Has he been resurrected?

I suppose you will prove my point.

If you believe Jesus is the Messiah.

If you go out and follow him.

If your actions reveal that Jesus is risen, then it does not matter what I say because all the world will proclaim Jesus as Messiah.

Who am I to say?  I am just Gamaliel, a Pharisee trying to hear God’s voice in the world.

Perhaps more importantly, who are you to say?

Yes, who do you say this man Jesus is?

Reflections on "Go" Luke 8: 1-3; John 20: 11-18

Mary Magdalene - another great character to reflect on this week.  I really enjoyed digging through some of the historical interpretations of Mary and then pull together a sermon from the biblical texts.

I picked the sermon title in haste, and then figured out how to work"go" into the sermon, but probably would have picked a different sermon title if I had done so when the sermon was done!

“Go” August 23, 2020, SAPC, Denton; Luke 8: 1-3; John 20: 11-18; Richard B. Culp

John 20: 11-18   But Mary [Magdalen]  stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look[a] into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew,[b] “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Introduction: We continue our preaching series, “people Like Us.” 

this week we meet Mary Magdalene - another character who has more stories outside of the biblical canon than in the biblical canon.  She is also known as one of the most “misinterpreted” characters in the Bible (see Women in Scripture, ed. Carol Myers, 120-123 for more of the history of how Mary Magdalene has been interpreted through the years)

If you want, you can go find information about the about the gnostic understanding of Mary, which has some interesting ideas about male and female issues.

Or you could go and read about why in the third century and beyond some theologians called Mary Magdalene the apostle of all apostles.

Or, how traditions about the disciple Peter and Mary Magdalene clashed in the early church.

or, you can read the different arguments for what Magdalene means.

If you are of a certain age, you probably hear Mary Magdalene and think of her as a prostitute since that was once an assumption about her based on the the Luke passage we read following closely the story of the sinful woman, whose sin might have been prostitution.  Since Mary’s name was mentioned in the next passage, as assumption was made about her that the text does not confirm.

This morning, I invite you to see Mary Magdalene as someone who encountered Jesus and from those encounters was able to go on to new life.  And maybe see yourself as one whose encounters with Jesus invite you to go out on to new life.

Move 1: After meeting Jesus, Mary can go and be freed n several ways.

a.  Physically, Jesus frees Mary magdalene from demons.

1.  Not sure what that means in a precise medical way.

2. Perhaps the demons manifest themselves in a mental health condition.

3. Perhaps she had convulsions.

4. We do not know how the demons manifest themselves in her life, but we know she was a prisoner to her health issues.

5. jesus frees her from those seven demons.

b.  jesus also frees her from the constraints she faces in the world in which she lives.

1.  In part, this story goes against the stereotypes and patriarchal society in which Mary Magdalene lived.

2.  The opening verses of Chapter 8 in Luke are a powerful passage for women.

3.  The passage comes on the tail end of story of sinful woman (tradition has it her sin was prostitution) who falls at Jesus’ meets and washes them with her tears before pouring ointment on them.

4.  The Pharisee, in whose house this happens, challenges Jesus for letting this sinful woman touch him and share this gift with him. 

5.  Jesus announces that the sinful woman has been forgiven and her gracious act is her response to such love.

6. The Pharisees get hung up on Jesus saying he could forgive sins.

7. they miss the point that a sinner’s life has been transformed.

7.  They do not see God’s deep and abiding desire for sinner to have new life, so strong a desire that God sends Jesus to forgive their sins, even the sins of a woman. 

c. after that story, the text immediately lists by name other women whom Jesus had healed:  Mary called Magdalene; Mary, called Magdalene, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza;  and Susanna.

1.  Lifting up women by name, women who are typically ignored or forgotten.

2. Ignored by society, but not by Jesus.

3. As I read this passage, I am reminded of a story told by Rev. Melissa Sevier.

Years ago, she went to a conservative seminary in the Reformed tradition, to get a degree in Christian education. A good thing that I didn’t want to be a pastor at that point, because that school didn’t even allow women to enroll in the Master of Divinity program.There were about a dozen women in a school of 250 or so students. 

When a female friend and I decided to take a summer Greek intensive course, some of our male colleagues protested to the administration. “Why should women be allowed to study Greek? What are they going to do with it, since they can’t preach?” I’m not sure what discussions went on in meetings, but we were allowed to take the class. The professor was very kind and treated us the same as he did the guys.

The following semester, she and I enrolled in a Greek exegesis class, studying texts and their meaning in the original language. Same prof, many of the same students—more than 50 of us. One day this text rolled around. After Jesus had forgiven a woman who was “a sinner” and who was intruding on a men’s meal, we have a seemingly offhand comment about some other women.

The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources. [From Luke 8]

After some Greek study, our professor read these few verses aloud in English. Then he leaned across the lectern with his hands on the edges, his elbows sticking out to the sides, and used a tone I only heard come from him this once as he said, “And, gentlemen, they weren’t just making the sandwiches.”

“What do you mean?” someone asked.

“Well, they appear to have been an integral part of the followers of Jesus.”

“What did their husbands and fathers and rabbis think?”

“I have no idea.”

“What are you saying?”

“The question is,” the professor said, “what is Jesus saying and what shall we learn from this?” 

Then the class was over. As I walked out, I saw some angry students lined up around the professor to challenge what he’d said (https://melissabanesevier.wordpress.com/2016/06/07/more-than-sandwiches/; Melissa Bane Sevier | June 7, 2016

“More than sandwiches,” from blog Contemplative Viewfinder

c.  Jesus heals us.

frees us from our sins; 

Jesus invites us to move beyond anything that keeps us from being the new creations God calls us to be.

1.You know the challenges you face in your life; you know the constraints placed on your life.

2.  Jesus knows the person God calls you to be.

3. Jesus frees you and invites you to go and live into that new life.

Move 2:  That is what Mary Magdalen chose to do - Go and follow Jesus.

a.  We do not know what happened between Jesus healing Mary Magdalene and her final appearance at the resurrection.

1.  The passage in Luke gives us a clue that she was part of a group of women who traveled with Jesus and his disciples providing resources and hospitality.

2. I suspect if we limit Mary Magdalene to just being a good host for the disciples, we do not give her enough credit.

3.  We do not know what her exact role was with the disciples and Jesus,  but we know she was still there by his side through those final days.

2. We know that when most of the other disciples have disappeared; or betrayed Jesus as Judas did; or denied Jesus as Peter did; Mary was still there.

4.  As Frederick Buechner describes her:  she seems to have teamed up with Jesus early in the game and to have stuck with him to the end. And beyond.  (https://www.frederickbuechner.com/quote-of-the-day/2018/7/28/mary-magdalene?rq=mary%20magdalene)

b.  I suspect she was still there with Jesus because he gave her a chance at a new life.

1.  A chance to live into the hopes and dreams he had for her and she desired.

2.  A chance to continue to grow in her faith and work at her discipleship.

3. such is the gift Jesus gives us.

4.  An invitation each day to follow Jesus; to serve him; to work at our discipleship.

Move 3:  Mary Magdalene also has an encounter with the resurrected Christ that makes her Go back into the world.

a.  The gospels are unanimous that women re the ones who discover the empty tomb.

1. in three of the gospels, Mary Magdalene is mentioned specifically by name as being one of the women.

2. As we hear the story, she did not expect the tomb to be empty, but she was still there.  Her service to Jesus continuing even after his death.

3.  As the Gospel of John tells the story, she is the first one to tell someone else that the stone had been removed from the tomb.

4. She did not know the implications of what that meant, but she was there in the moment.

b.  She also is the first one to see the Risen Christ in the Gospel of John.

1.  She mistakes him for a gardener, until he calls her by name.

2.  Then, she recognizes him, and begins to realize that her life has been changed again:

she whose life already had been changed when Jesus healed her;

she whose life had already been changed when jesus invited her to follow him;

She now has her life transformed by God’s power to resurrect as she stands before the resurrected Christ.

3.  her first instinct is to grab hold of him, but Jesus tells her, “Don’t hold on to me.”

4.  A new phase of her relationship with Christ begins - she cannot hold Christ there with her because he is soon to move on to his place in the heavens with God;

 but she, whose life has been touched by resurrection power will go into the world and live as a follower of the resurrected Christ.

Conclusion:   Milton Brasher-Cunnigham A number of years ago, Ginger, my wife, and I were in Greece as they were celebrating Orthodox Easter. When we got to our hotel, the concierge greeted me by saying, “Christos anesti.” Then he leaned over the desk and said, “And you must answer, ‘Alethos anesti.’  Literally Christi is Risen and the response, “Truly risen.”

Concierge’s translation:  I am saying, ‘Christ is risen,’ and you answer, ‘He really did it.’” (http://donteatalone.com/lenten-journal/they-were-terrified; Milton Brasher-Cunningham, blog Don’t Eat Alone “they were Terrified,” April 1, 2018)

Jesus really did heal Mary Magdalene and give her new life.

Jesus really did invite Mary Magdalene to follow him as he lived among the people.

Jesus really did touch Mary Magdalene with the power to resurrect.

Hear the good news:  her story is our story.  Amen.

Reflections on "Waiting and Preparing" Mark 15: 42-47

A belated post of last Sunday's sermon.  I have never preached on Joseph of Arimathea.  Very interesting how the the four gospels have slightly different spins on who he was and how he did what he did.

“Waiting and Preparing” August 16, 2020, SAPC, Denton; Mark 15:42-47; Richard B. Culp

Mark 15: 42-47  When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. 45 When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 Then Joseph[l] bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body,[m] wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body[n] was laid.

Introduction: We continue in our preaching series, “people Like Us.” 

this week we meet Joseph of Arimathea, a minor, but important character in the biblical story.  His story is found in all four gospels.

The lack of stories about him in the Bible is more than made up by the legends and stories told about him in other places and other times, including being linked to the search for the Holy Grail.

But we will stick to the biblical story this morning.

Three things we notice about Joseph of Arimathea.

Move 1: First of all, Joseph of Arimathea was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God..

a. Not sure if that is a description of who he was before the crucifixion or after Christ had died.

1. If describing who Joseph was before the crucifixion, we understand it to tell us that Joseph was a believer and follower of Christ.

2. In fact, the Gospel of Matthew confirms this in its description of Joseph as a disciple of Jesus (Matthew 27:57).

3.  he would have been an unusual follower of Christ because he was also a respected member of council - one of those who had a place of authority.

4. as we hear the story of Jesus, we get the feeling that most of the authorities did not like Jesus, did not see him as the Messiah, did not like his threat to their power.

5. But Joseph of Arimathea is on the list of those who had followed Christ and found their hope in him, despite his being in a position of authority.

b.  But, we might also wonder if this waiting expectantly also describes how Joseph was acting after the crucifixion, and of course given that the gospel was written after the resurrection fo Christ, if it describes how Joseph acted after the resurrection.

1.  If so, we see in Joseph someone who after watching Christ die on the cross, still held out hope that God would act.

2. If so, we see in Joseph someone who after seeing Christ resurrected believed the power to resurrect and do a new thing to be the way in which God would continue to be at work in the world.

c. what does waiting expectantly look like?

1. Old Testament scholar Elizabeth Achtemeier  writes,“…faith, according to the Bible, consists in waiting for God to act -- waiting with the expectation that he will act; acting with the assurance that he will keep his word; trusting that the future will indeed bring that which he has promised.”

2.  Joseph lives out his faith by waiting expectantly.

d.  We do a lot of waiting these days - waiting for quarantine if we have been exposed to someone with coronavirus; waiting for a vaccine; waiting for the pandemic to end; waiting for good news.

1.   there is a weariness to our waiting.

2.  Joseph invites us to reshape our waiting into waiting expectantly for God to act. 

Move 3:  Which leads to the second thing we notice about Joseph - waiting expectantly leads to Joseph preparing.

a.  Literally, preparing a tomb for the body of Jesus.

1.  Joseph has something to offer - a tomb.

2. Depending on which Gospel story you read, it is Joseph’s own tomb or he had the means to buy a tomb. 

3. Joseph giving his tomb to bury this man whom he has been following.

4.   I find that a powerful, intimate act of giving and caring.

5.  Years ago when I was just out of college, I was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Corsicana, TX.  Before they signed me up to teach Sr. High Sunday school, I attended what I suppose was the Pastor’s Class.

Not sure what we studied, but as I recall there were not many of us in the class. I’m not sure my attendance record was that good either.  the minister did have had a wonderful Scottish accent, so it was fun to listen to him. 

 One week the minister told us the story about getting a call from the local funeral home.  A man had died with no family, no resources, nothing to his name.  The funeral home was going to take the body and bury it at a grave donated by the city.  No funeral plans, unless the minister wanted to come and do something.

The minister told us about going to the cemetery to say a few words of hope and resurrection and give a prayer as no one but the those digging the grave and the undertaker stood by.

But, the minister made a powerful statement on his belief that everyone deserved a burial.  A commitment lived out by the ministers here at St. Andrew in years past and in our present time.

6.  When I had this story about Joseph taking Jesus’ body to a tomb he had donated and then wrapping him in linen and placing the body in the tomb, and finally rolling the stone over the opening, I am touched by his commitment to take care of Christ’s body.

b. Joseph was also preparing for God to act.

1.  not sure he knew he was doing that, but he was.

2.  His act of burying Christ in the tomb and rolling the stone over its entrance sets the stage for what will take place in a just a few das.

3. God will act.  The stone will be removed.  the tomb will be empty. Sin and death will be overcome by resurrection. 

4 Joseph has prepared for this moment.

c.  Our calling is to prepare the world for God to act.

1.  sometimes we may have no idea how God is going to act, but God meets our preparation by doing a new and sometimes amazing thing.

2.  I remember a story George Stephanopoulos spent Christmas, 1984 in a refugee camp in the Sudan.  In the middle of the camp, Ethiopian villagers constructed a small church made of sticks and cardboard.  Priest swept out the floor for Xmas services where Christians later gathered.  In the midst of a hopeless situation, an act of faith and hope.

3.  Joseph reminds us of our calling to be those disciples who move forward in the world preparing as best we an for God to act.

Move 3:  Finally, we notice the Joseph went boldly 

a. The Gospel of John says Joseph went secretly to ask for Jesus’ body, but I like Mark’s depiction - Joseph body going to Pontius Pilate and asking for Christ’s body.

1.  Boldy acting on his faith in the face of Jesus’ death.

2.  Joseph body revealing that he is a follower of Christ who cares what happens to his body.

2.  Boldly acting  among those who thought the crucifixion of Christ had put an end to his ministry and his impact on the world.

b.  It occurs to me that we could use some boldness in our lives today.

1. Boldly proclaiming  that we are waiting expectantly for God to act.

2. boldly proclaiming that even in the midst of pandemic, God is at work in our midst.

3. Boldly looking to how God is calling us to act in this moment.

c. Do not mistake acting boldly with dismissing or ignoring the reality in which we live.

1. Joseph did not ignore the fact that Jesus was dead - he just acting boldly in the face of his death.

2.  wE are not asked to act like life is not tough right now or that we are desperately searching for answers, but we are still called to act boldly as followers of Christ.

Conclusion:  We do not know what Joseph does after the resurrection; we just know what he did in the moment.

We cannot know how the future will play out for us; but we know our calling in the moment to boldly and expectantly wait and prepare.