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.

 

Reflections on “Diary of a Mother” Matthew 20:20-27 and Matthew 27:55-56

A few weeks ago someone mentioned how much they liked having the sermon notes on the blog when they listened to the sermon, so of course, last week I did not post the notes until Monday!  I will try and get the sermon notes up before Sunday for those who like to read along.  Of course, those reading along will discover the difference between what is written and what is spoken.

This week's sermon was an attempt to approach the sermon a bit differently.  I'm not sure how effective the approach was.  In doing a sermon in first-person voice, it makes it hard to explicitly engage what is going on in the moment in our context.  One of the strengths of this summer series has been how the sermons have connected to our current context. With this sermon, the listener has to make that leap for herself or himself.

As an aside, my mother is daily diary writer and a proud mother, so I sort of had her in mind as I wrote the diary entries.  Not what words she might say, but the image of a mother penning her thoughts at the end of a day.  

 “Diary of a Mother” August 9, 2020, SAPC, Denton; Matthew 20: 20-27; Matthew 27: 55-56 Richard B. Culp

Matthew 27: 55-56 Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

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

this week we meet the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Do not look for her story anywhere but the Gospel of Matthew.  Some biblical scholars assume the woman Salome, who watches the crucifixion of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, is the same as the mother of the sons of Zebedee, but there is no textual evidence to prove that connection (see All the Women of the Bible, Edith Deen, 194 for more on Salome).  

The Gospel of Matthew leaves her unnamed.

Some biblical scholars see her as a tool used by the writer of Matthew to tell the story of disciples battling for who might sit by Jesus, without making James and John look as bad as they do in say the Gospel of Mark  (New Interpreter’s BibleVol VIII, 398)   You know the old trick - let mother be the one to ask the question!

This morning, I am going to share with you a series of diary entries the mother of the sons of Zebedee wrote - well, maybe she did not actually write them, but she could have!

Move 1: First diary entry - no date, but from its content, we can assume it was written (at least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it) after her sons had been serving Jesus, but before she makes her request of Jesus to seat her sons at the right hand and the left hand of Jesus in the kingdom of heaven.

Dear Diary, I know most mothers think their sons are really great young men, but mine really are!  They do not like it when I brag on them, but they are deserving of all the good things I say about them.  Just ask the neighbors who watched them grow up and become the men they are today.

Zebedee and I raised them to be faithful to God and to serve God.  They were already doing that before they met Jesus.

I remember how excited they were when they came and told us they believed that Jesus was something special.  Maybe even the Messiah. 

I remember thinking that the boys might be a little dramatic in their description of Jesus, but we encouraged them to follow their hearts.  If they believed in Jesus and wanted to follow him - then leave their boats, give up their fishing nets and follow Jesus. 

And did they ever.  And they are good at following Jesus.  They were two of the twelve picked to work closely with Jesus.  Jesus has even sent them out into towns together to teach and heal, and my boys have done a great job of doing those things for Jesus. 

 the others started to call them the J and J boys.  It made me so proud would I would hear people say, “The J and J boys were there with Jesus when he healed our son.”  or “did you see what the J and J boys did?”  

J and J - my James and John.

I do not know how long they will follow Jesus.  But I do know that my two are two of the best at what they do with Jesus.

 

Move 2: Second diary entry  - from its content we can assume it was written after her request of Jesus.

Dear Diary - My sons are mad at me. Maybe Jesus is mad as well, although he did not seem mad - more like he did not understand.  Or maybe that I did not understand.

All I did was ask for what they deserve - to sit on either side of Jesus in the kingdom of heaven. 

 I guess some of the other disciples took it the wrong way.  I wasn’t saying they were not worthy of sitting by Jesus. They do good work as well, especially Peter.

but I think John and James are as deserving of those seats of the others, maybe more so. 

Jesus did not disagree with me.  Well, not exactly.  He asked if I knew what I was asking.  

then, he asked the boys if they were able to drink from the cup he was going to drink.

Both boys said they were able. I was so proud of them.  I know they can.  they have learned so much from Jesus and are so committed to serving him. 

I think they can handle anything Jesus needs them to handle.  They have been by his side for all this time.  If Jesus had to step away for some reason, James and John could take over and it would go smoothly.

I do not understand why Jesus mentioned drinking from the cup that he was going to drink?  

I have always understood the idea of drinking from the cup to be drinking from the cup of God’s wrath.  Like drinking from the cup meant suffering, maybe even dying.  

why would Jesus be talking about suffering and dying.  The crowds love him.  I know the Temple officials do not seem to like him, but Jesus has so much support from all the people.  

Thankfully, Jesus put an end to the disagreement between my boys and the other disciples.  He told them that if they want to be great, they must be servants.  He even went on to say that he came to serve and not be served.

I sort of get what Jesus is saying.  After watching him all these months interact with others, I know he really does try to serve people, to help them with their difficulties, and to heal them.

My boys are learning to serve like Jesus does.  

Just because I think they deserve to sit by Jesus in the coming kingdom does not mean they are not willing to serve.  It just means that they are the best servants! 

Move 3: A third diary entry written after Christ’s crucifixion. 

Dear Diary -  I wept, I remembered, and now I worry.

I wept as I watched Jesus die on the cross.  What a horrible way to die.  

Crucifixion - the death reserved for the worst of the criminals, which means they think of Jesus in that way.

I do not think of him in that way.  He was always so concerned about others.  I know he could get angry with all the rules and all the ways the chief priests tried to control everyone, but he did nothing to deserve crucifixion.

Some people got mad him because he did things differently and he cared for people they did not think deserved his care, but to crucify him?

Those were not my first tears.  The last day or so has been horrible.  Things have changed so quickly - just a couple of nights ago my sons celebrated the Passover supper with Jesus.

they said it was a wonderful evening at dinner, and then everything changed after the dinner.

I have not seen either James or John in the last day or so.  I’m not sure where they are.  I hope they have stayed out of trouble with the crowds. 

when I think of jesus.  I weep. 

I also remember.  I remember how Jesus loved the people, taught the crowds, and healed the sick. who will take care of those people now?

I also remember my two boys and how they followed him. The stories of all these things they did together - the miracles, the teaching, the healing, the working together.  Is that over?

What will they do know  How can they follow Jesus when he is dead?

Maybe that’s why Jesus told them they had to learn how to serve to be first.   I suppose they can carry on Jesus’ work by serving and loving the people.

And now I worry.  I worry about my sons James and John.  I know, a mother always worries about her children, but as I remember Jesus asking if they could drink of his cup, I worry that somehow Jesus was talking about his suffering on the cross and dying.

Does that mean crucifixion awaits my boys James and John?

The world seemed a better place when Jesus was with us.  I worry now that things will be just like they were before.  

If Jesus is gone, where will we find hope?

If Jesus is gone, whom will my boys follow?

Will the J and J boys still have work to do?

Conclusion: the mother of the sons of Zebedee asks Jesus if her sons can sit next to him in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus asks her if they can serve next to him in the world.

Jesus asks us the same question.

Reflections on “Facing Reality” Mark 7: 27-30; Isaiah 35

Another week with a powerful story to preach.  Not sure I quite understand the exchange between Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman, but the story felt pertinent to our current context.  I am grateful for the insights of Prof. Young on the Isaiah passage - her thoughts really helped shape my approach to the sermon.

“Facing Reality” August 5, 2020, SAPC, Denton; Mark 7: 27-30; Isaiah 35; Richard B. Culp

From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Sir,[h] even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” 30 So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Introduction: We continue in our preaching series, “People Like Us,” this week reflecting on the story of the Syrophoenician woman.

We do not know her name, but we know her story.

Move 1: Before getting to the Syrophoenician woman, however, listen again to the words of the prophet Isaiah:

a.  Strengthen the weak hands,

    and make firm the feeble knees.

4 

Say to those who are of a fearful heart,

    “Be strong, do not fear!

b.  “those who are of fearful heart”  in Hebrew is literally But a more literal rendering of the Hebrew phrase "ones whose hearts are racing." (Anathea Portier-Young Associate Professor of Old Testament

Duke University Divinity School

http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3768)

1.  I don’t now about you, but some days that sounds like a pretty good description of how I feel.

2.  The heart is racing as we contemplate the world before us:

3. In addition to all the usual stuff:  parenting; or being spouse; or dealing with other relationships; or work issues; or medical issues; or political division; or political unrest 

4. On top of all that, we live in a  time of pandemic.

5.  A time of isolation and perhaps too much time to think and ponder the world around us.

6.  when I hear Isaiah speak of those whose hearts are racing, I recognize I am one of those people. 

7. When I hear him says, “Be strong.  Do not fear.” I need to know how.

For that answer, we turn to the Syrophoenician woman.

Move 2:  A woman with a racing heart might describe the Syrophoenician woman.

a.  Her reality creates anxiety for her.

1. Her reality puts her outside looking in at Jesus.

2.   She is “a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin” (Mark 7:26). 

2.  In other words, she is implicitly impure, one who lives outside of the land of Israel and outside of the law of Moses, a descendant of the ancient enemies of Israel. 

She is also a woman, unaccompanied by a husband or male relative, who initiates a conversation with a strange man -- another taboo transgressed. Elisabeth Johnson

Professor Lutheran Institute of Theology

Meiganga, Cameroon; http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3761)

3. Add to the mix, she also has a daughter filled with a demon. We do not have a description of how the affliction showed itself in her particular case, but we know from other biblical stories that she probably acted out and had bizarre responses to those around her.

b.  The Syrophoenician woman may be able to accept the reality of her social status in the world, but surely her heart races as she desperately seeks healing for her daughter.

1. As she looks for help, she turns looks to this man Jesus who has a reputation for healing.

2.   she knows that she is not in the target audience for his ministry.

2.  she knows she is outside his reach.

3.  But she turns to Jesus anyway.

c.  a mother with a  racing heart turns to Jesus.

1.  We stop here at this point in the story to be reminded where we are invited to turn when our hearts are racing.

2.  When the complaining and whining have not changed things.

3.  when our best plans do not seem to lead us out of our predicament.

4.  When it feels like we are mired in quicksand, and the more we try and do, the more we seem to sink.

5.  when the world’s circumstances seem to be closing in, we follow the Syrophoenician woman and turn to Jesus.

6. The text tells us she bowed down before Christ - as I imagine that scene, it reminds me as a child spending time in the summer at my grandparents and watching each night as my grandfather, in his pajamas, slowly get down on his knees and pray before going to bed each night.

5.  As we hear the prophet Isaiah calls us to “Be strong,” we find our strength in Jesus Christ.

Move 2:  Admittedly, when the Syrophoenician woman comes to Jesus in this story, her desperation is not immediately met in the way we might expect or want.

a. Maybe Jesus is having a bad day.

1.  Some people point to his presence in Tyre, away from his home turf, hiding out in a house as a sign Jesus is trying to get away from things.

2. Take a break.

b. But the woman with the sick daughter and racing heart finds him.

  1.  She arrives unannounced and falls at the feet of Jesus. 

  2.  She asks for him to heal, and he answers with a sharp remark that seems to suggest she is no more than a dog, and as such unworthy of anything Jesus can offer her.

  3. She responds, well she responds like a desperate mother willing to accept anything from Jesus if he will heal his daughter.

  4. “Don’t I even get the crumbs?”

  5.  As I have shared with you before, biblical scholars do not know what to do with this exchange.

6. Some suggest Jesus’ sharp response reveals Jesus’ humanity, his human side that is tired and cranky and does not want to deal with anyone, including this mother.

  7. Some biblical scholars suggest Jesus knows what she is going to say, so he is setting her up to make a point about his willingness to engage outsiders.

  d.  I do not know if either theory is correct, but I do know that the mother with the racing heart turns to Jesus, he hears her and heals her daughter, without even going to see her little daughter.

  1.  I know that Jesus hears us when we turn to him.

2.  I know that when God hears our desperate cries, God is acting as God has done for generation after generation.

3.  I know that our only and final hope is found in God.

move 4:  A final reminder from the prophet Isaiah

a. Underlying Isaiah 35’s dramatic imagery of divine action, similarly, hope proceeds not simply from God’s expected reversals, but from those the prophet seeks to inspire, from a small band of Judeans who recultivate the burned land and push back the chaos, and thus strengthen their own weak hands, feeble knees, and fearful hearts. (Patricia Tull, A.B. Rhodes Professor Emerita of Old Testament; Louisville Presbyterian Seminary; http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2627)

b. God’s people not only find their hope in God but their calling in being part of God’s transforming work.

1. the God who hears the cries of those with racing hearts, the God who hears our cries, sends us back into the world.

2. Back into the world to proclaim that God is still at work.

3. Back into the world to join with others whose hearts are racing.

4. Back into the world to be part of God’s work among the sick, the oppressed, the disillusioned.

5. Back into the world to serve as peacemakers, to hold ourselves and others accountable to the vision of God’s love we know to be true.

Conclusion:  With racing hearts, we turn to God;  in the hope and promise of God we are sent to share God’s saving grace in a world of racing hearts.