Read Mark 11:15-17
What do we learn from these verses? Is God’s house a place of prayer for us?
Bible Readings: Isaiah 50:4-9 Luke 19:28-38
Our old testament passage from Isaiah this morning is one of the so called ‘servant songs’, taken from the third of four found within the middle portion of the book of Isaiah and like all the others, it speaks of this servant of God. The question is, however, who is this servant…
When we look at the verses closely they do appear to be very personal, and almost, in a sense, auto-biographical. Also, there seems little doubt that here the prophet does appear to be talking about himself and the relationship he has with God. However, the nature of old testament prophecy is such that it is never simply confined to one time or place – and that certainly applies to these verses.
For whilst the prophet may indeed have been a servant of God and whilst all of this may have applied to him, there is no doubt that there are also distinctive Messianic overtones within these verses and that the ultimate servant we are looking at here is Jesus himself. Mocked, beaten, accused, condemned, but never disgraced and vindicated at all times by his Father in heaven.
Of course Jesus knew that he must endure all of this and more. He knew that he must be tortured and then crucified, but he did not hide his face. Indeed not only did Jesus refuse to hide his face, He boldly put himself out in the open that all of these things might come to pass.
The story of Jesus entering Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday is one that we all know and love, and as we read these verses again and again we can almost imagine ourselves being there. In amongst the heaving crowds, waving our palm leaves and joining in on the chorus of Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
It’s a wonderful image of Jesus in all his glory and all his majesty.
However, I wonder how often, if at all, we have taken time out to consider what a glorious act of defiance and courage Jesus demonstrated that day. Because let’s not forget, by now he was effectively a wanted man; a man with a price on his head, so to speak; a man whom the authorities were just waiting to seize at the earliest opportunity. Anyone else in such a position might have chosen to slip into the city quietly, doing everything possible to avoid attracting attention to themselves – but not Jesus.
He enters the city in such a way that he is the centre of attraction, the focus is very much on Him as he places himself on the centre stage. And of course it was no accident that things happened in this way, nor was it any sudden or impulsive action. This was all carefully planned by Jesus.
And the more we stop to consider this, the more we come to realise how breath taking all of this was. That a man who was now regarded as an ‘outlaw’ by the authorities should enter the city in such a defiant manner. It is almost impossible to exaggerate the sheer courage of Jesus that we witness in this behaviour. Yet it is perhaps something that we very seldom stop to consider.
As Christians we rightly think of Jesus as the Son of the living God, part of the Holy Trinity, a divine being – and he was and is, but Jesus was also fully human. He felt pain in the way that we do, he suffered as we do and he went through all the many emotions that we do – and he was tempted in the way that we are.
Remember after his time in the desert, when the devil failed to tempt Jesus to join him – Satan left Jesus until an opportune time. Here we have such a time. Who really wants to be put to death in such a horrific manner, especially at such a young age and especially when you know you have done nothing wrong.
Who wouldn’t be tempted to keep our heads down and to look for an easy way out of the situation we now found ourselves in. To perhaps even run away from all the controversy, all the hysteria and all the danger. It would perhaps be the most natural thing in the world for any of us to do.
But Jesus knew what his mission was. He knew why God had sent him. He knew exactly what he had to do. And he had the courage to do so. No hiding away, no flinching from his mission. Nothing or no-one could stop him from serving God in the way he had be chosen to do.
But what about us today?…
None of us here today has been called to serve God in the way that Jesus did, our mission is nothing at all like His – how could it be? Yet we have all been called by God, called to serve Him as disciples of Jesus, as part of His Church here on earth.
And for the most part we all seek to do that in the way that we live our lives each day, as we bear witness to Christ and his message in all that we say and do. However, sometimes serving God isn’t quite as simple and straightforward as that, sometimes bearing witness to Christ involves more than this. Sometimes we are called to stand firm, to speak out, to proclaim the Gospel message against all the odds.
The question is, do we have the courage to do so, or do we look for an easy way out.
Serving God and bearing witness to Christ never has been and never will be easy and we will all face difficult times as we seek to do so. And sometimes we will be intimidated, we will be confronted, we will be mocked and we will be ridiculed. We will be told that any arguments we put forward against any situation based on the gospel message are nonsense. Because the Gospel message is nonsense and not relevant in our modern day society.
Yet the reality is that this in itself is absolute nonsense. The Gospel message is as relevant today as it has always been – and always will be. People still suffer today in the way that they did back then and people are still as much in need today as they were back then. We still have social disorder, poverty and depravation, we still have corruption and injustice, we still have greed, bitterness and enmity. The times may have changed, the peoples may have changed, but the inherent problems within humanity still remain the same.
And for all the excuses and reasons we might give, the harsh reality is that so much of this happens because people don’t believe that the Gospel message is relevant today. If those in positions of power and authority paid more attention to the teachings and example found in the Word of God, then maybe, just maybe things just wouldn’t be so bad.
Which is why we need to have the courage of our faith to hold on to that faith and to proclaim it whenever we get the opportunity to do so. Yes, we will be tempted to hide away, to stay quiet and do nothing, to go with the flow and accept the status quo. However, the question is, is that what Jesus would do?
So as we begin this holiest of weeks, as we remember Jesus final, faithful, defiant and courageous journey to the cross. Let’s do all we can to do as he did. Let’s bring our faith out into the open whenever we can, in defiance of the world around us, speaking out in the name of Christ and boldly witnessing to him in all we say and do. For just as he was with the suffering servant, just as he was with his own dear Son, so God will always be with us when we serve him in this way.
And he will help us to find the courage that we need…
Amen.
Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’ (Mark 11:10)
Will we be among the crowds welcoming Jesus into our lives tomorrow?
‘Jesus said: whoever listens to me and obeys my words is like a wise man who built his house on a rock.’ (Matt. 7:24)
Are the teachings of Jesus the foundations on which we build our lives?
‘Mary has chosen to listen to me and that is the most important thing of all.’ (Luke 10:42)
How good are we at listening to Jesus? Can we hear Him through the clamour of everyday life? Do we listen for Him in everyday life? Are His words important to us?
For all our Easter Services this year at both our churches, please click on the link below.
‘Pay Caesar what belongs to him and pay God what belongs to God.'(Matt. 15:21)
What do we think Jesus means when he says this to the Pharisees? What does it mean for us as we live our lives each day?
‘Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life…’ (Mark 10:17)
How would we answer this question?
Bible Readings: John 11:1-6, 17-44
The story of the raising of Lazarus is one that we often hear at this time of year but I wonder if we ever stop to consider what was going through the minds of Martha and Mary at that time. Don’t forget, they knew Jesus well, He spent time with them and Lazarus whenever He came to Jerusalem. So at the beginning of this chapter when they sent word to Jesus saying that Lazarus was sick is it perhaps possible that they would have expected Him to come at once, to come and help heal His friend as He had healed so many others. But He didn’t…
We are then told that when he did eventually come to Bethany it was Martha that first of all went out to meet him. But what might she have been thinking or doing just prior to that moment. Perhaps she was wondering just how on earth she and Mary were going to be able to continue living without their brother. Maybe her whole body ached as she grieved the loss of her Brother as she suffered from both physical and emotional exhaustion. She and her Sister would have had to make all the necessary arrangements for the burial of her Brother And now she would be playing host to the family and friends who were there in mourning.
And what about Mary, was she sitting in the house grieving, unable to be consoled or comforted by any of the family or friends who were there. Or did they both take time to look at all the family and friends who were there, thankful that they were able to be by their side. And as they did so, did they think of the one friend who wasn’t there, the one who could have helped most…the one who could have saved their Brother…
Did that make their grief worse, did that kindle their anger, to know that Lazarus might have been healed, need not have died – if only He had been there…Why didn’t He come quickly, what was the delay. Surely Jesus didn’t intend to stay away so long, something must have happened.
And when Jesus did come and when Martha went out to meet Him – Lord, if you had been here my Brother would not have died…How was that said? Was there any anger or even resentment in her voice? We will never know. However, look what Martha says next. But I know that even now God will give you what you ask…
At that point, did she really believe that Jesus could raise her Brother from the dead. And even after that brief theological exchange between Jesus and Martha, about Jesus being the resurrection and the life. Did she truly believe that within minutes her Brother could be standing by their side once again…
Mary then arrives on the scene and says almost the exact same thing her sister did – Lord if you had been here my Brother would not have died. This time, however, there is no theological talk of any kind. Instead we are told that on seeing Mary weeping, Jesus wept. And when Jesus calls out in a loud voice, Lazarus, come out…How do these Sisters then feel on seeing their Brother walk from that tomb. Overjoyed, no doubt to have their Brother returned to them. But is there that question nagging in the depths of their minds, why did Jesus put us through all this and allow this to happen…
And maybe that’s a question we would ask also…Why did Jesus intentionally hold back and allow this to happen. Maybe a question that we’ve asked on more than one occasion.
How often when we walk in some dark and despairing valley do we feel as if we are doing so on our own because we feel as if God has abandoned us. How often have we felt that at that time when we need to know God’s presence most in our lives, it’s almost as if He is hiding from us. We call in to the darkness and all we seem to get is darkness in return – so we stop talking to God.
We stop talking to God, perhaps afraid that we that we shouldn’t be so angry or sad or that we shouldn’t be so despondent and despairing. We stop talking to God because we have no right to talk to God in that way – and yet perhaps this passage teaches us something different.
So often when we consider these verses we focus purely on the raising of Lazarus – and perhaps understandably so, given the significance of that miracle. Yet if we look closely at the behaviour of Martha and Mary in this story, we can take so much from it.
When Jesus did appear, Martha and Mary were not shy at sharing their feelings and their emotions with Jesus. In their time spent with Jesus previously they had learned a valuable lesson. They had learned to trust God in the darkest of valleys – but not be afraid to be honest about their distress. Jesus disciples had not yet come to this point in their faith journey but Mary and Martha are honest and even as their tears fall they say. If you had been here, things would have been different.
They may believe but still they don’t hold back their grief, their disappointment, their dashed hope.
And here we see that Mary and Martha have learned something that we learn over and over again – God can take it…We can scream, shout, weep, be true and honest about our feelings and emotions. Because not only will God hold all of that, God will scream, shout and weep with us.
The simple truth is that we all know that feeling, the wavering between despair and hope. That Mary and Martha experience of…if you had been here…mingled with…I believe…We have all asked the question why did Jesus allow this to happen. Where was he when I needed Him, I thought he was my Lord and Saviour. But the thing is, in asking these very questions are we not getting to the very core of what our Christian faith is all about.
To learn to hope even in the darkest of valleys. To know that life is indeed possible, and indeed stronger, than the darkness which seems to be all around us.
Is it not the case that what the actions of Martha and Mary teach us is that somehow we need to learn to live with both a sense of abandonment and the joy and hope of resurrection. That we need to put our faith and trust in Jesus at all times – good and bad.
I believe, said Martha, that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who has come into this world…
Help us Lord to hold on to that belief, that we too may be as faithful witnesses as Martha and Mary…
Amen.