Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. In today s gospel we find Jesus strolling through the cloister on the East side of the

Transcription

1 Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God In today s gospel we find Jesus strolling through the cloister on the East side of the temple buildings. It is winter and this is probably the most sheltered, warmest place to be. It is the Feast of the Dedication or Hanukkah which occurs in December. This festival celebrated the purification of the temple in 164 BC in the time of the Maccabean revolt. In 167 BC the temple was desecrated with pagan sacrifices by the Seleucid Antiochus Epiphanes. As Jesus walks along he is joined by a group of men who demand a straight answer as to whether he is the Messiah. I must admit I sympathize with these people. I too wish Jesus, or John, would speak plainly without so many riddles and fancy turns of phrases. Who is Jesus? Is Jesus the long awaited Messiah? Is Jesus God in the form of man? Just as in Genesis God created man in the image of God, is the Gospel of John now giving us God in the image of man? Jesus tells them he has already told them but they do not believe him. He tells them that if they cannot believe what he says then they should believe based on the works he has done in the name of his Father. At this point in the Gospel of John, Jesus has 1

2 provided six signs having turned water into wine, healed the royal official s son, healed a lame man, fed 5000 with five loaves and two fish, walked on water and restored sight to a blind man, with the raising of Lazarus from the dead and giving the disciples a large catch of fish yet to come. These are not signs that just anyone could do not even a great teacher and healer, but only God. Jesus tells them that they do not believe he is divine because they are not of his sheep or one of his followers, yet he invites them to believe. When Jesus tells them that he is one with his Father, the people pick up stones to stone him for blasphemy, for claiming to be equal with God. At this point you might be wondering why on the fourth Sunday in Easter we are telling a story of Jesus before he was crucified. Why aren t we telling the story of the walk to Emmaus or another resurrection story? The author of the Gospel of John is very clear as to why he wrote his gospel, these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. (Jn 20:31) In the words of Jim George in The Bare Bones Bible Handbook, John, with all his heart, wants his readers to believe in Jesus as God and Savior. In fact, [John] uses the term believe about 100 times to 2

3 get the message across. Genesis begins with man made in the image of God, while John begins with God made in the image of man, or as John describes it, the Word became flesh (1:14). Jesus is presented as the Word, the embodiment of the truth, the life, the glory of the eternal God. Later John shows the relevance of Jesus coming to earth in his statement, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). And to further help convince his readers of Jesus true identity, John organizes his entire Gospel around eight miracles that is, signs or proofs. Only God could perform these miracles. And only the God-man could die as the perfect sacrifice in the place of sinners. <end quote> It is also important for those using the Revised Common Lectionary that you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, the human one and the divine one, that Jesus is God the Son, the second person in the Trinity. On the first Easter Sunday the tomb was found empty except for the burial clothes. On the evening of the first Easter Sunday Jesus appeared to his disciples in a locked room, but Thomas was not present and then on the Second Sunday in Easter, Jesus appeared again to his disciples and to Thomas in the locked room. On the Third Sunday in Easter, we heard the story of Jesus preparing breakfast for his disciples on the beach. They had been fishing all night but had caught nothing. Jesus tells them to throw their net to the right side of the boat and they haul in a huge catch of fish. The disciples are coming to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God who is one with his 3

4 Father. Today, the Fourth Sunday in Easter, the gospel story builds on this theme and shows that this was an important question even before Jesus death and resurrection. The question is Is Jesus the Messiah? and the answer is yes! and Jesus is one with God. Another question you might have is, Since Luke is our primary gospel for Year C, why are we reading all these stories from John? The primary goal of the synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, is to follow Jesus. The primary goal of the Gospel of John is that we believe in Jesus. We need to do both, to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, to follow his example, but we also need to believe in Jesus, to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, that Jesus is the Christ, that Jesus is the Son of God, that Jesus is the Word incarnate, that Jesus is God in the flesh. And so while Luke is the primary Gospel for this year, we also read John so that we can learn to follow Jesus and learn to believe in Jesus. Praise be to God who sent his only begotten Son to be one of us, the Word made flesh. Praise be to God for the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf for our salvation. Praise be to God for his self-revelation through Jesus Christ. Praise be to God for the Gospel writers who told the story of God and Jesus so that we could hear the 4

5 story and believe. Praise be to God for giving us the courage and the will to share God s story. Praise be to God for the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 5

6 Easter 4, Year C, RCL St. James, Albion, MI, 04/17/2016 Acts 9:36-43 Revelation 7:9-17 John 10:22-30 Psalm Motto: Living our Faith - Love, Teach, Feed ; A Warm Welcome to All Vision: A Christ Centered Community, loving God, our neighbor, ourselves and all of God s creation Ministry: Our ministry is to build relationships within our St. James family and with our neighbors through our Food and Education Ministries. AIM, Community Suppers, Community Garden, Albion Reading Camp, Third Sunday Missions Mission: The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. Sustainable Development Goals SDG #2 Zero Hunger SDG #4 Quality Education Albion Faithful Families Education on healthy eating, growing vegetables and exercise Diocesan Goals Communication building relationships Welcoming the Young Food, Water & Shelter Deacons Inventory of skills and physical possessions My 2016 Resolution is to get to know Jesus better and to share my insights with you. Trouble in the Bible, Grace in the Bible. Trouble in the World, Grace in the World. Situation, Complication, Resolution, Celebration! Bartlett, David L. and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Feasting on the Word, Year C, Volume 2, Lent Through Eastertide, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville / Kentucky, Lincoln, Andrew T., Black s New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint John, The Passion, Hendrickson Publishers, Continuum, London, New York, 2005, Senior, Donald, The Passion of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, Williams, Rowan, Resurrection, The Pilgrim Press, New York, George, Jim, The Bare Bones Bible Handbook, John, , Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon, Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen. <Please be seated> 6