Weekly Lessons and Sermon
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be always
acceptable in your sight, oh Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
acceptable in your sight, oh Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
Acts 7:55-60
1 Peter 2:2-10 John 14:1-14 Let us pray: Lord, keep us always as searchers for the Way, the Truth and the Life. In your presence may we feel your tender love, hear your words of guidance, and be changed by your truth. In your light may we see life clearly, and in your service may we find purpose for Jesus’ sake. Amen. It’s kind of strange as a preacher to put together Mother’s Day with a Sunday when the lectionary features the brutal murder of the first Christian martyr. St. Stephen is the featured central character of our first lectionary reading from Acts, and we get to see him meet his end at the hands of an angry mob who kill him by attacking him with rocks. It’s not exactly a sweet Hallmark card Mother’s Day sentiment. Granted, there are probably a lot of mothers who have been—or who at least see themselves—as martyrs, and who willingly pass the sentiment along to their children in never-ending recitations of their parental drudgery and their offspring’s ingratitude. If you think about it, the lectionary fits pretty neatly into the theme of our secular holiday. Why is that, you ask? Because in Greek the word “martyr” actually means “witness.” It didn’t start out meaning someone who died for their faith (although getting killed for what you believe in is, you must admit, a pretty darn strong testimony!); rather, it simply referred to someone who was willing to speak of what they knew to be true. If I were to ask many of you to name the person who most influenced you in your Christian faith, I think many would answer, “My mom.” Moms are powerful “martyrs” in this respect. My own mom was a hard-working farm wife. She was also prone to being hyper-neat and very concerned about her appearance, a borderline obsessive compulsive, and a world-class cigarette smoker which I believe accounted for her early death. But her short-comings notwithstanding, my mother was determined to raise her children in the Christian faith – specifically as Lutherans. She and I may not have always agreed on politics or popular culture, but she taught me very early about prayer and gave me the gift of my faith beliefs and for that I will always be grateful. When we take a look at the First Lesson in the Lectionary for Easter 5, I think it’s important that we read back a chapter and see that the most important witness we get from this guy Stephen is not how he died but how he lived. The Bible says Stephen was “full of faith and the Holy Spirit” as well as being “full of grace and power.” I’m guessing this means Stephen was a strong believer in Christ, had a good relationship with God, was open-minded, thankful, and pretty competent in his work. He was also well-versed in Jewish history and literature, astonishingly courageous in the face of death, and openly forgiving as we see in chapter 7. All of these traits are witnesses to his faith in Christ and to the Spirit which dwelt within him. The Gospel Lesson this Sunday is one which I preach on more than any other. John 14:1-6 is a recommended text for funerals and memorial services, probably because of the promise that we will one day be with Christ. The disciples were still in the upper room. Jesus had washed their feet. They had shared a meal. Judas had gone out to betray Jesus. And Jesus had just told Peter that Peter was going to deny him. The room was filled with apprehension, unease, distress! It is a liminal space, a space in which life seems to be on a knife’s edge. Things were out of control as the disciples leaned in and listened to Jesus. It is into this moment of uncertainty and fear that Jesus speaks. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” Facing his own death. Aware of the disciple’s confusion, their fear and the impending desertion Jesus offers to them hope. Jesus always offers to them and to us hope. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” In the face of uncertainty, confusion, doubt and fear: “Believe in God, believe also in me.” Although we may seek to live a good life, a life of discipleship, a life responding to God, the reality is that we miss the mark, we get it wrong. When we listen to each other’s life stories we discover that this truth that all of us miss the mark and fall short of the glory of God, and this has consequence for us and for those whom we travel with in community. Sometimes we realize that we have missed the mark and sometimes it takes another person to reveal this to us. I am also reminded of this truth on days like today which is Mother’s Day. My mom was not perfect, and I was not the perfect son. Each of us missed the mark in our relationship. I am thankful that we were able to work through this and to continue to love one another. Not all mothers and children are able to achieve this so for some, Mothers’ Day comes with a mix of emotions for a range of reasons. What I like about the story is that Jesus is certain that his disciples “know the way.” Poor Thomas is a little confused, thinking that Jesus is referring to some geographic location, but Jesus sets him straight. To be in relationship with Jesus is to be in relationship with the way of God and the peace which flows from that path of living. The disciples “know the way” because they know Jesus. So, what is this “way?” Certainly, it has a lot to do with love, sacrifice, gratitude, willingness to suffer, and faith in the God who raised Jesus from the dead. I’m willing to bet that if you learned this “way,” it might well have been because of the witness of your mother. She was the “martyr” who spoke the language of Christ to you. We are all called to “martyrdom.” That is, we are all called to be witnesses. It’s good to reflect, on how we see Christ in others, but we are also called to be Christ to others. Pope Benedict XVI had a cool way of expressing this: “Life in its true sense is not something we have exclusively in or from ourselves; it is a relationship. And life in its totality is a relationship with Him who is the source of life. If we are in relation with Him who does not die, who is Life itself and Love itself, then we are in life. Then we “live.” All of us, personally and communally, are people who miss the mark. All of us, personally and communally, are therefore people to whom Jesus words of grace apply. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God believe also in me. As we sit in the middle of all this uncertainty, I am reminded that most of us have been here before. As we enter limited spaces in life, spaces of doubt, and even fear, I am constantly reminded that in my own life I miss the mark, but I am also constantly reminded that despite this, Jesus is the way the truth and the life and it is he who guides us home. As you consider this moment in your own existence, personally and as a community, hear the good news and be strong in faith, for on the night those disciples gathered full of fear and apprehension Jesus words came to them as good news of hope for them and for all people: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” A Happy Mother’s Day to you all.
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