Also, my church has started to podcast my sermons, and I think listening to them is so much better.

You can find them here.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. ” (Acts 2:42–47, NIV)

A while back my nephew was really interested in our family relationships. He was about 4 or 5, I can’t really remember his exact age, but he was just starting to put all of the various ways that we are connected together.

Whenever he met one of us, he would immediately start to list all of the ways that we were connected to the others in our family.

"Hi, Uncle Chad."

"Hey buddy."

"You are my Uncle."

"Uh,… yeah."

"And Mummy’s sister, right?"

"Yup."

"And Auntie Amber’s brother."

"Yes."

"And Daddy’s brother-in-law, and Grandpa’s Son, and Grandma’s Son, and …"

He was so interested in the family connections, because he wanted to figure out where he fit into this thing that he called his family. He started to identify who he was, by who he was related to, by who his family was.

As we age we begin to define our identities with other things, our group of friends, our careers, our boy-friend or girl-friend, our experiences, the things we own, the way we look.

There are things that shape us, and change us so much that we take every opportunity to tell others about them.

When Sherilyn and I first moved back from England we had been profoundly impacted by the experience of living in a different culture for a whole year, and it came up in virtually every discussion. But after a little while I began to notice something.

No one else cared.

And that really hurt.

When I started to talk about something that we did there, and people’s eyes started to glaze over (you know, that look where people are looking at you, but in their heads they are making up a shopping list) I started to feel rejected.

There was this heaviness in my gut that made me want to lash out, or completely ignore that person for the rest of my life.

How many know what I’m talking about?

It hurt because I had placed my identity in that experience. In essence I was saying, "I am, at the core, someone who has lived in London for a year, and if you do not care about that, then you do not care about me."

I had shrunken my identity to a certain experience.

When you go to a party with a group of people that you have never met before or haven’t seen for a long time and want to make a good impression, what do you do? What do you say?

The thing that you want to make sure these people know about you is where you get your identity.

In our individualistic culture, we identify ourselves less by what we are a part of than the ways in which we are distinct from others. We are constantly searching for ways that we can distinguish ourselves.

Often we get our identities, not by being a part of something, but rather by being distinct from a certain group, or some other person. We isolate ourselves, claim things for ourselves, cordon ourselves off behind fences, long driveways, and big houses.

The problem with this, it that we were not made to be in isolation. In fact, when God is creating the world, the first thing negative thing he says about creation is that it is not good for man to be alone. This is not just limited to a marriage relationship, either. We were made to identify ourselves with others, not opposed to them. We are made for relationship.

We were made for community.

A community like that of the early church.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ” (Acts 2:42–46, NIV)

This is the kind of community that we long for. This is the kind of community we deeply want to be a part of. This is the kind of community we seek to belong to.

Linkin Park, a secular rock band, has a song called "Somewhere I Belong" that expresses this desire.

"I want to heal.

I want to feel.

What I thought was never real.

I want to let go of the pain I’ve held so long.

[Erase all the pain 'til its gone.]

I want to heal.

I want to feel.

Like I’m close to something real.

I want to find something I’ve wanted all along.

Somewhere I belong."

Somewhere I belong.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ” (Acts 2:42–45, NIV)

Often when we look at this picture of the early church, the first thing we notice is the economic arrangement. We notice how people are keeping everything in common, how they are selling off their assets and giving the money to those who have need, and our first reaction is, "Well, that wouldn’t work."

But the economic arrangement is really a small part of the description of this community. It is a symptom of something else, rather than the cause.

The defining characteristic of the early Christian community is NOT their economic arrangement. After all, as the story continues, this arrangement doesn’t seem to travel with the gospel message. The defining characteristic of the early Christian community was not the economic arrangement, but the closeness of the community.

They were a part of a new community, and they devoted themselves to it.

They were a part of a new family, and they looked out for one another.

They were a part of a new humanity, and they lived as though they cared for each other.

The defining characteristic of this new humanity that has been created in Jesus the Messiah, is that we all belong.

That we are part of one body.

When these girls professed their faith in this ceremony this morning, they were essentially saying that they want to be identified as a part of this community. Profession of faith is simply us standing up and saying, I want to be a part of this.

I want to be a part of this new movement.

I want to be a part of this new community.

I want to be a part of this new humanity.

“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. ” (Acts 2:46–47, NIV)

The church is not primarily an institution, or a building, or a place to be married and buried. The church is primarily a community. A collection of forgiven sinners, called to be holy, dedicated to service, and saved by the patient grace of God.

Rob Bell puts it this way in his book Jesus Wants to Save Christians.

"A church is the new humanity on display.

She’s in graduate school, and he’s in his nineties;

and one couple has a million dollars, and another doesn’t have enough money for dinner;

and he arrived in this country three years ago with a small suitcase, and they’ve never been out of the country;

and they have a son fighting in the war, and their going to a war protest later today;

and he’s got serious doubts about what he was taught growing up, and she’s just decided that God might even exist.

All of these people – who are divided, who never sit down and listen to each other – in the new humanity, in the church, they meet, they engage, the interact, the begin to feel what the other feels, and the dividing wall of hostility crumbles.

In the new humanity,

them becomes us,

they becomes we,

and those become ours.

…

The beautiful thing is to join with a church that has gathered and find yourself looking around thinking, "What could this group of people possibly have in common?"

The answer, of course, would be the new humanity.

A church is where the two people groups with blue hair – young men and older women – sit together and somehow it all fits together in a Eucharistic sort of way."

This is the place where we really belong.

This is the place where we can be real with one another.

Where the masks can fall. Where we can help and be helped. Where the divisions which keep us lost, separated, alone have been removed.

The new humanity is one in heart, mind, and purpose, because we are one in Christ.

Pentecost was actually an ancient Jewish festival that went all the way back to Mt. Sinai.

Pentecost marked the time when the Israelites received the covenant.

Remember, Israel had been enslaved under Pharaoh in Egypt, and God had sent Moses to help liberate his people. The night that the Israelites left Egypt, they were told to celebrate this special meal, called the Passover. They were to slaughter and cook a perfect lamb a certain way, and spread some of its blood on the door posts. When the Angel of Death saw that blood he would pass over that house and not enter that house. That night Pharaoh decided to let them go, and a new chapter started in the history of Israel.

Turn with me a minute to Exodus 12

"The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you." (Exodus 12:1-2, ESV)

The first month.

The Passover marked the new beginning for Israel.

They started a new life.

They were freed from oppression because of the blood of the lamb they had spread on the door post.

Then, the Israelites leave Egypt and head out into the desert. They miraculously cross the Red Sea and wind up in the desert of Sinai.

A wasteland of rocks and dust and mountains.

50 days after they celebrated the Passover, the Israelites stood before Mt. Horeb in the desert of Sinai and met with God.

It is here that God meets them and gives them an amazing promise. It is here, in the desert, that God gives them their new identity.

In Egypt the Israelites were defined by how many bricks they could produce, by what they could achieve. But here before the mountain, they had only to receive this covenant that God was giving them.

Look at Exodus 19

"You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” " (Exodus 19:4-6, ESV)

The Israelites stood there before the mountain and heard God promise that they would be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

This is what is celebrated at the time of Pentecost.

So the followers of Jesus were gathered together in one place, celebrating Pentecost, reading the stories of God appearing with fire, and thunder, and trumpets on Mt. Sinai.

“And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them." (Acts 2:2-3, ESV)

The pouring out of the Spirit marks the fulfilment of the new covenant Jesus promised in his blood.

This crowd gathers because they hear this sound, and these 120 people prophesying and telling of the mighty deeds of God. They are all wondering what in the world is going on, so Peter stands up to tell them.

“Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! ” (Acts 2:14–15, NIV)

We’re not drunk. This is the fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel.

“No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” (Acts 2:16–21, NIV)

We don’t really know much about the book of Joel. We know his father was Pethuel, but that’s about it. We’re not really sure when it was written, either, but it seems likely a post-exilic book. It was written by Joel to the people in and around Jerusalem after the return from exile. Written in response to a drought and a plague of locusts.

Joel saw in this event a metaphor for the Day of the Lord, that great day of return when God would come to fully redeem his people.

“Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your forefathers? Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten. Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine; wail because of the new wine, for it has been snatched from your lips. ” (Joel 1:2–5, NIV)

"Wake up," says Joel, "look around us. We are not free from the effects of judgement. We do not get a free pass just because we are a part of a certain people group, because we grew up in church and have attended with some regularity, because we give a little bit of our time and money to Christian ministries but keep the rest for ourselves, because we spend some time reading the Bible and trying to live a moral life."

God’s primary desire for us is not some code of behaviour. His primary desire for us is that our relationship with him is renewed.

““Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing— grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God. ” (Joel 2:12–14, NIV)

"If you turn to God," says Joel, "with more than just a surface behavioural change, then he will leave behind a blessing for you."

“Then the LORD will be jealous for his land and take pity on his people. The LORD will reply to them: “I am sending you grain, new wine and oil, enough to satisfy you fully; never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations. ” (Joel 2:18–19, NIV)

But the blessing doesn’t end with a reversal of the drought and plague of locusts. God promises a deeper renewal.

““And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls. ” (Joel 2:28–32, NIV)

Joel leaves the people with a promise that God will not only carry them through their physical trials, but he will reconnect with them in a way he had never done before.

He would pour out his spirit on all people.

Turn back with me to Acts 2:21ff.

“And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. ” (Acts 2:21–24, NIV)

Then he explains from the scriptures that this was all according to God’s original plan, and in verse 36 gets to the central point of his message.

““Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” ” (Acts 2:36, NIV)

As Peter stands up with the other apostles he is surrounded by all these people who have come to Jerusalem to celebrate and remember the giving of the first covenant on Sinai, a covenant that emphasised behaviour, a behaviour none of us are able to keep fully, he takes this prophecy of Joel, this promise of a new and closer connection to God than had ever been offered, and says that it has been fulfilled in Jesus.

“And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” (Acts 2:21, NIV)

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36, NIV)

God, through Jesus, has completely rescued his people. In Jesus’s death and resurrection our separation from God has been removed. We have been reconciled to God, and the proof of this is that the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, has been poured out on his people.

“When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” ” (Acts 2:37–39, NIV)

We join this new community that God is rescuing from slavery to sin, and the tyranny of our own desires by believing this proclamation that Jesus is Lord and Christ, or Messiah.

Repentance is not primarily a change of behaviour. Repentance is a recognition that we have been living without God, and expresses a desire to return to him.

Repentance is a change of heart.

God’s primary desire for us is not that we follow a code of behaviour.

God’s primary desire for us is that our relationship with him is renewed.

That through Jesus we have been reconciled to him.

That through Jesus we, as a community, have been brought back into full fellowship with him.

God’s primary desire is to dwell with us. To make us into a temple, a place where he can dwell.

This is why Peter calls us God’s people.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. ” (1 Peter 2:9–10, NIV)

May you open yourself the work of the Spirit in your life.

May you accept the offer of new life provided in the Holy Spirit.

May you be assured of this, God has made this Jesus, whom we crucified, both Lord and Christ.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:1–7, NIV)

A while back I was reading a book Stumbling Toward Faith by Renee Altson. This is a really tough book as she walks you through an incredibly painful life. She was abused by her father, who said he was doing it because she was bad and had to be punished for her wrong. Her father, an ‘upstanding’ Christian used God as an excuse to get what he wanted from his own daughter. At one point in her story, she desperately sought out some kind of help to overcome her pain and shame. She turned to the church she attended, but it only heaped more of it on her. One line has stuck with me.

“No one ever told me I could genuinely matter to God.” (Renee Altson, Stumbling Toward Faith)

She grew up in church. She attended a large evangelical church every Sunday. No one ever told her that God really cared about her. That God loved her so much he came to die for her so that he could live with her forever.

That God loves her like a groom loves his bride.

The prophet Hosea was called to live out a demonstration of God’s love toward his people. He was told to marry a prostitute, Gomer, and have children with her. Then, when she ran away with another man, or men, he was told to forgive her and bring her back into his home.

This, says God, is what he intends to do with his people.

““In that day,” declares the LORD, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master.’ I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked. In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety. I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge [you will know] the LORD. ” (Hosea 2:16–20, NIV)

“I will betroth you. I will be engaged to you. I promise that I will make you my bride.”

The image that God gives when he describes his relationship with his people is one of a loving husband forgiving a cheating spouse and promising that they will start over.

They will be married again.

Eugene Peterson translates this passage this way in the Message.

“And then I’ll marry you for good—forever! I’ll marry you true and proper, in love and tenderness. Yes, I’ll marry you and neither leave you nor let you go. You’ll know me, GOD, for who I really am. ” (Hosea 2:19–20, The Message)

“You’ll know me, GOD, for who I really am.”

The passage that we read in John is a part of that last great discourse that Jesus has with his disciples between the Last Supper and the Garden of Gethsemane. He has just predicted that Peter will deny him, but he knows that is not the end of the story.

Our denial is not the last move in our relationship with God. He has made a way to renew our relationship.

“In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ” (John 14:2–3, NIV)

Within Jewish tradition, when a young man wanted to make a young girl his bride, he would approach his parents and suggest to them that this arrangement be made. He would go with his father to the father of the young woman and make his proposal. He would outline his plans to be able to support her, and make any arrangements as far as dowry is concerned, and then after these arrangements are made to the satisfaction of the young woman’s father, the young woman herself would be brought forward.

At this point she holds all the power. The arrangements have been made, but it is still up to her to accept them. She must approve of the young man before the betrothal will take place.

If she approves, they participate in a formal ceremony sealing their intention to marry.

Then the young man returns home and begins to get everything ready for his bride. Since it was generally expected that the young woman would come and live with the young man and his family, he would start to build an addition on the house of his father. The home that he would take his bride home too would be connected to his family home. Basically he would add a bunch of rooms to his father’s house, which would form the living quarters of his new family.

If a man was very wealthy and had many children, his house would get very large, as more and more of his children built additions onto his home.

The Father’s house would have many rooms.

Jesus uses this imagery of betrothal to comfort his disciples and convince them that something better is coming.

““Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ” (John 14:1–3, NIV)

Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection provide the basis for this new betrothal between God and his people, the betrothal promised in Hosea.

“I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD. ” (Hosea 2:19–20, NIV)

Or, as the Message puts it;

“Yes, I’ll marry you and neither leave you nor let you go. You’ll know me, GOD, for who I really am. ” (Hosea 2:20, The Message)

“I’ll marry you and neither leave you nor let you go.”

I think this is what Paul was getting at when he wrote to the Romans.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ” (Romans 8:38–39, NIV)

Jesus has ascended to heaven to prepare a place for each of us in the coming fullness of God’s kingdom. God is preparing for a wedding, and we are the bride.

This is why Jesus came to die for you. He wants to take you to be with him forever. He became incarnate, lived, died, and then rose again so that he would be able to call you his beloved. There is nothing Jesus didn’t give for you. There is nothing that can take you away from him.

So while we long for the day when Jesus will return to collect us as his bride may you trust the Father’s love expressed to you in Jesus.

May you know that God is preparing a place for you to dwell with him forever.

May you believe that nothing can separate you from the love of God that is in Jesus, the risen and ascended Messiah.

Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgement, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. (John 16:5–15, NIV)

Today is Mother’s Day. A day when we honour our mothers for what they mean to us. A day that we might buy her some flowers, or get her a card, or visit her grave if she is no longer with us.

A day like today causes some mixed feelings in many of us. There are women here who long to be mothers, and have not been given the opportunity. Some of us have had mother who were less than perfect; mothers who caused more pain than joy in our lives. A day like today can bring up all sorts of good memories, but also painful ones.

So, today, we honour the work that mother’s do which is often over looked, we walk alongside those who long to be mothers but have not had the opportunity, and we challenge those who are mothers to live well toward your children.

Guiding, correcting, and comforting the way God guides, corrects, and comforts us.

Jesus is here talking with his disciples just after they have shared their last meal together. Many scholars think that this last discourse, this collection of sayings that John records here in chapters 14-16 are actually spoken to his disciples out in the street as they are on their way to the garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus is walking with his disciples, toward the place of his own betrayal, and he tells them that he is going to leave them.

““Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ” (John 16:5–7, NIV)

"It is for your good that I am going away."

For many of us this seems like a very strange concept. We assume that it would be much better to have Jesus here with us on earth, right now. If he were here it would make things so much easier. We would not struggle with faith and trust in him the same way we do now, because he would be right there in front of us. We would not doubt in the same way, or become as complacent because he would still be here in flesh and blood.

But Jesus says it is better for him to go away, because if he goes away he will send the Counsellor to us.

The word that is translated "counsellor" is the Greek word "παράκλητος" which is why the Spirit is sometimes referred to as the "Paraklete". Within Greek secular culture of the day, this term referred to a legal advisor, a proxy or advocate, which is why this term is sometimes translated as "Counsellor" meaning "Lawyer".

While this is one interpretation of this word, it is not the way that the word is used in the OT.

The OT was originally written in Hebrew, but during the third and second centuries before the birth of Jesus it was translated into Greek, the common language of the day, in a document called the Septuagint.

This is the version that most of the NT writers quote from when they quote from the OT.

Throughout the OT, the word παρακαλέω means to help, to comfort, to console.

Turn with me a minute to Isaiah 66.

““Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her. For you will nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts; you will drink deeply and delight in her overflowing abundance.” ” (Isaiah 66:10–11, NIV)

This marks the end of Isaiah’s prophetic book and pictures the people of Israel back in Jerusalem after the exile. God urges the people to rejoice that they have been brought back into the promised land. He pictures the restored Jerusalem as a mother to the rest of the world.

“For this is what the LORD says: “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees. ” (Isaiah 66:12, NIV)

But then he makes a shift in the image and the mother is no longer Jerusalem, but God.

“As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.” ” (Isaiah 66:13, NIV)

When God wants to encourage the people in the midst of their struggles is exile, as they await the coming renewal, he uses the image of a mother who helps, who comforts, who consoles.

A mother, who is a paraklete.

“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ” (John 16:7, NIV)

Unless I go away, the helper, the comforter, the consoler, the paraklete will not come to you.

Mum’s are not only a source of comfort and love, they are also a source of rebuke and discipline when we do things wrong.

How many of you have ever been punished by your mum?

Exactly!

To be honest my mum has had the most lasting influence on my life. I learned a quite a bit from dad, and he was the head of the household, but when it came to the everyday shaping of who we were as people, I think mum did most of the work.

When I did something wrong, dad could stomp and shout like no one’s business, but it was mum’s quiet and constant guidance that directed me toward the right path.

The work of a paraklete is not only to provide comfort and encouragement it is also to guide, rebuke, and discipline.

“When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement: ” (John 16:8, NIV)

Jesus describes this as a threefold conviction; first the Spirit convicts us of the guilt of our sin. Now, Jesus is not talking about how we fall short of God’s rule of life for us, how we do things that do harm to others and to ourselves. Jesus, here, links the guilt of our sin with our unbelief in Jesus.

“in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; ” (John 16:9, NIV)

This does not mean that the Spirit is not interested in guiding us into the right path, but that comes through the second conviction, that of righteousness.

“in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ” (John 16:10, NIV)

The Spirit consistently works in our hearts and minds to present an image of a better life. He constantly calls us to grow into faith and godliness, a life where we embody more and more the life that God has designed for us, a life which overflows grace and peace to those around us.

Since Jesus is now in heaven, the Spirit is the one who works in all our hearts to give us an example of how our lives can be better.

Third, the Spirit convicts us of the judgement of the world.

“and in regard to judgement, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. ” (John 16:11, NIV)

He shows us that the road which our culture tells us is so profitable, so enjoyable, is really a road that leads to destruction. The things that this world thinks are so important, are really just distractions. Glitter and flashing lights that draws our attention away from the death and destruction that lines the road.

Essentially, the role of the Spirit is to point us toward Jesus, toward belief in him, toward his life, and toward the work he has done on the cross.

The Spirit, like a good mother, does everything to guide her children toward Jesus and the new life of the resurrection.

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. ” (John 16:13–14, NIV)

The Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. He will guide you into truth. He will show you the new life that is available through me.

As Jesus is walking with his disciples toward the garden of Gethsemane As he walks through the streets of Jerusalem knowing that within a few hours he is going to be killed he tells his disciples that after he goes he will send the counsellor, the helper, the comforter, the paraklete.

“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor [the Comforter] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ” (John 16:7, NIV)

When Jesus is speaking to his disciples who are wondering what is in store for them, wondering what is going to happen as Jesus talks about his coming betrayal and death, as Jesus is speaking to his disciples who are filled with grief because he is talking about his departure, of all the images that Jesus could have used to describe what the Holy Spirit would be like he draws on this ancient image given by Isaiah.

This image of a mother comforting her child.

I was sitting at a coffee shop the other day working on a sermon and a woman was in the corner with her little girl. She was feeding her lunch. After she was done the mum started cleaning up the things while the girl started crawling around in the chair. All of a sudden she lost her balance, slipped, and fell off the chair.

You could see the look of panic on the little girls face as she fell from the chair and landed on the floor. She didn’t hit very hard but you could tell she was freaked out and she started to cry. Those deep, body rocking sobs that children are so good at.

Her mother immediately dropped what she was doing and picked up her little girl. She held her in her arms and started whispering, "shhhh, shhhh, it’ll be okay. I’m here. Don’t worry."

“As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.” ” (Isaiah 66:13, NIV)

So today, as we honour our mothers who do their mother thing, who kiss our owies and restore broken hearts, who provide that constant direction toward the right path, who work to create a space for their family and friends that gives witness to the Shalom which comes from living close to God, may we see that they bear witness to the grace and love of God.

“As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” ” (Luke 9:57–62, NIV)

This past weekend I spent time at the Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. It was a great time to connect with people and to talk about writing and the role of faith in how we write. As I was listening to the various presenters, the one thing that came out time after time was that at a certain point a writer just needs to sit down and write.

As you sit there in front of the blank page, or the empty computer screen, there is a huge temptation to give into the temptation to procrastinate. Its not as though we don’t want to do the work, we just say we will do it in a minute.

Is this how we approach our faith?

“As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” ” (Luke 9:57–58, NIV)

In this passage, we join Jesus travelling with his disciples from Galilee down to Jerusalem. He is making his last movement in ministry which ultimately ends up in his death and resurrection. His ministry has drawn quite a bit of attention from the people and the religious authorities. The people recognise that in Jesus God is doing something incredible, but the religious people only see Jesus as a threat.

He challenges their authority. He breaks their traditions. He spends time with people they have labelled as unworthy of love and attention.

He is changing things, and we all know how much religious people love change.

Luke tells us way back in chapter 6 that the Pharisees and teachers of the Law were trying to figure out a way to get rid of Jesus, and it is in response to this opposition that Jesus calls his disciples.

“On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shrivelled. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shrivelled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. But they were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus. ” (Luke 6:6–11, NIV)

Following Jesus means following someone who over throws the power structures of the day. Following Jesus means identifying yourself with someone who causes change, who causes friction, who makes people uncomfortable because he lives a different way. It means leaving behind our lives of comfort to follow the one who is making all things new.

When you think about following Jesus, is sacrifice the first thing that comes to mind?

This kind of discipleship cannot be entered into half-heartedly. Jesus calls us to place him and his kingdom before everything else.

“He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ” (Luke 9:59–60, NIV)

Within Jewish society there was no stronger relationship than that between the father and son. The father retained all control over the estate and the family until he died. A son, especially a first born son, was expected to live his life in the shadow of his father until his father was no longer there. This is hard for us to understand in our culture, where we are encouraged to set up boundaries between ourselves and our parents when we "become adults" but in first century Palestine a son would never think of making a radical change in his life without the permission of his father.

So when this man responds to Jesus that he wants to bury his father first, he is probably asking Jesus to allow him to wait until his dad dies so that he will be free to do what he wants.

Jesus says, "Follow me." and he responds, "In a minute."

“Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” ” (Luke 9:61–62, NIV)

This person is willing to follow God, but he does not want it to impact his family relationships. He wants to go back and take leave of his family. He wants to explain to them what he is doing. He wants to obtain his father’s blessing.

This saying, "Goodbye" is not just telling them what he is up to, it is seeking the permission to do what Jesus is asking. He is placing his relationship to his family before the call of Jesus. He is putting cultural tradition before his walk with God.

Jesus calls him to follow, and he says, "In a minute."

But the call to follow Jesus involves a change that happens right now and reorders our allegiances.

When we follow Jesus we become lights in a dark world, and the darkness seeks desperately to put the light out again.

“Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” ” (Luke 9:62, NIV)

The word translated ‘fit for service’ is the Greek word εὔθετός. This is a compound word that comes from εὖ, which means ‘brave, noble, or good’ and τίθημι, which means ‘to set, lay, or place’. The word literally means ‘well placed, or put in a good spot.’

Jesus is saying that anyone who begins to follow Jesus, but then has second doubts and begins to wonder about what she is leaving behind is not really ready for use in the kingdom.

I grew up on a farm in Southern Alberta where the fields are quite a bit larger than here. Most of them were big squares with roads all the way around. 640 acres in one spot. At that time we were still farming with a two pass system. We would go into the field and fertilise all 640 acres in one shot, working on the angle from one corner to the other. Then we would come back a couple weeks later, cut the field in half and seed in 320 acre parcels.

When you opened a field when you were fertilising, you would start in one corner and cultivate all the way to the other corner, a 2 mile stretch. It was very important that you picked a spot way out on the horizon and aimed for that. If you turned around and looked back too often you would start to wander and the line would wobble. Then the next pass would try to follow that, and so on.

If you did not look way out in front, before you knew if there would be wandering all over the field and make a mess of things.

If we look back too often when we are following Jesus we will start to wander all over the place and make a mess of our lives and those around us.

But if we commit to following Jesus we become people who are fit for service in God’s kingdom. We become people who are ready for use by God, people open to the direction of the Spirit, people who are willing to leave things behind in order to move forward in their walk with God.

When we focus on the path that God has laid before us we become people who are well placed, people who are able to proclaim the kingdom of God.

“He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ” (Luke 9:59–60, NIV)

"But you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

Then in the parallel to the other person.

“Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” ” (Luke 9:62, NIV)

Here Jesus links being fit for service, or ready for use, with proclaiming the kingdom of God.

Jesus tells us not to wait. Go and do it now. Go proclaim the kingdom. Go, tell people about me. Go, show people what it is like to live in the kingdom of God.

Proclaiming the kingdom of God is more than telling people about Jesus.

Proclaiming the kingdom of God is partnering with God in making this world the kind of place he intends it to be?

God desires to use us to give witness to the kingdom of God, to give witness to the life of Shalom that we live through the Spirit. God has put us all in a specific place, with a specific sphere of influence so that he can show people what it means to live in his kingdom.

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ” (Ephesians 2:10, NIV)

Good works which give evidence of the new life within us.

Serena Woods, the author of Grace is for Sinners, tells a story about Josh and Lindsey. They had been married for a number of years and had slowly drifted apart for a number of reasons. Josh had thrown himself into his work and hobbies. Lindsey had connected her worth with her work and had developed an inappropriate relationship with one of her coworkers. A man that knew both Josh and Lindsey. A Christian who was a leader in his church.

That relationship led to an affair which had devastating consequences for their marriage. However, instead of immediately assuming that the relationship was ruined, Josh chose to forgive Lindsey and they decided to reframe their relationship in a healthy and wholesome way.

Lindsey tells it this way.

"My husband is devastated; full of fury and hurt. Each and every minute spent in each other’s company is agonizing, painful, full of grief, and often anger.

"Consequences for the affair come swiftly, and come hard. I feel my identity being ripped away; the separation violent and bloody. When I made my choice, I threw away the beauty of being a wife, a mother, a friend. Trying to put that skin back on in the aftermath feels uncomfortable, like I am trying to wear clothing meant for someone else, someone more worthy. Shame sets in, and I do what I have always done. I start wrapping layers of protection around me; trying to numb the pain.

"But there is also love, has always been love between my husband and I. The only tenuous thread we have to hang on to in the middle of the storm raging between us. My first real glimpse of God occurs the morning after, when my husband says “I love you, I always have. I will never leave you, and I am sorry I did not protect you from this.”

"That first new bond between us is made in an instant, a feeling of awe and the gentle sigh of hope that he (and He) could still love me, after what I’ve done. God is already moving, rushing in to take back what has been lost." (Serena Woods on grace is for sinners)

“God is already moving, rushing in to take back what has been lost.”

Could it be that in the kingdom of God even the most hurtful, extreme, damaging violation of trust can be an opportunity for renewal? Could it be that the power of the resurrection in our lives allows us to forgive others and restart a relationship? Could it be that within the kingdom, brothers who have not spoken to each other for years because of something that happened between them could be reconciled to one another?

This past week we laid to rest a former member of this congregation. We marked his passing into glory and were able, at his funeral, to praise God for his care and protection. We mourn his passing and it is not easy to turn away from his grave. We place him in the ground knowing that we have to leave him behind, but we know that the grave is not his final resting place. We know that Christ will return in all his glory and will raise him again from the dead. We know that we will be restored to him.

We know that in the kingdom of God death has been conquered. We know that it is only a matter of time before the kingdom comes in all its fullness.

While we live on earth, awaiting the return of Christ we are given the opportunity to go and proclaim the kingdom of God.

Proclaiming the kingdom of God is more than telling people about Jesus.

Proclaiming the kingdom of God is partnering with God in making this world the kind of place he intends it to be?

We proclaim the kingdom of God every time we refuse to give in to our consumerist culture and refuse to buy the latest gadget we are told we need. We proclaim the kingdom of God every time we forgive someone for hurting us. We proclaim the kingdom of God when are completely open and honest in all our business dealings, even when it might cost us. We proclaim the kingdom of God when we are able to sing praise to God at a funeral, to rest in the care of God even while we feel the brokenness of this world.

We proclaim the kingdom of God when we live a life that shows this world what the world will be like when Jesus returns.

“God is already moving, rushing in to take back what has been lost.”

May you hear Jesus giving you the opportunity to partner with him in making this the place he intends it to be.

May you live a life that gives witness to the resurrection power of the new life within you.

May you be ready for use in God’s kingdom; in all that you do, in all that you say, in who you are, proclaiming the kingdom of God.

“When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. ” (Mark 16:1–8, ESV)

I was talking with a friend the other day. And right in the middle of the conversation he brings up something that he had done years ago. Something that he has been carrying around with him. Something that the other person forgave him for.

But it still bothers him.

After a bit of discussion he finally says, "What kind of person could do something like that." In his mind, this action has made him into a monster. Into someone who does not deserve forgiveness. That question, "What kind of a person could do this?" implies that he does not view himself as a person any longer.

His action has marked him forever.

Its like he is carrying around this chalkboard, this slate, that is marked with all the bad things he has ever done. As he does bad things, this slate slowly starts to get marked up. There are things that people have forgiven him for. Little things that don’t really do much damage.

Much of his slate he would consider to be pretty clean.

But this one action is so huge in his eyes that it marks the slate so much, so deeply with so much residual impact on the rest of his life, that no amount of cleaning, of forgiveness, will even be able to get that slate clean.

He thinks his life is tainted for the rest of time, and nothing he could do would ever get it clean.

It is obvious that this is something that he has never been able to forgive himself for.

Its been like twenty years, and yet it still bothers him.

We all have stuff like this, don’t we? Stuff that we think we have gotten over, but then we go to that place, or we see that person, or we remember that time and it all comes flooding back.

We are once again crushed with guilt and shame.

Forever marked with the effects of our own behaviour.

This Lent we have been walking with Peter. Following Jesus, somewhat reluctantly toward the cross. Not understanding that this is where he was headed.

After following for three years. After being with him through all kinds of miracles. After hearing him claim to be the fulfilment of the hopes and dreams of God’s people. After seeing him transformed in glory while on the mountain. After proudly boasting that there is no way he would even leave Jesus’s side, that he would be willing to die with him, he failed miserably.

Given three opportunities to claim Jesus as his Rabbi, he denied him every time.

Could you imagine what that Saturday would have felt like. I wonder if it was hard for Peter to face the other disciples after that night. I wonder if he told anyone what had happened, or if he suffered alone.

Some rock he proved to be. When the pressure was on, he folded like a house of cards.

I am sure that Sabbath was not an easy day for any of those who loved Jesus. The women had to wait until the sun went down again on Saturday before they could purchase spices and the other things that they wanted to leave as an act of mourning. All the markets were closed over the Sabbath, so it was impossible to have a proper burial for Jesus.

The haste of Friday night left no room for a proper funeral.

For proper mourning.

So they decide to go to the grace early on Sunday and anoint him with spices and oil. Kind of like we leave flowers on the graveside of a loved one. Just after sunrise the women make their way out to the tomb. They simply want to mourn him. They want to have the time to grieve this one who was so cruelly ripped from their lives.

They want to say "Goodbye."

They start to wonder how they are going to get into the tomb. How could they push back that great big stone that sealed the entrance? But when they got there, the stone was already rolled away. The black gaping hole in the white rock seems to mock them as panic starts to rise in their hearts.

Something is not right here.

This is not what they expected.

Cautiously they bend over and enter the tomb, and sitting there is a man dressed in a white robe. Right there, on the right side of the tomb. He said that Jesus was no longer there.

That he had risen.

The place where his body had been lain was empty.

Jesus was no longer dead, but was alive, and he had a message for them.

“And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” ” (Mark 16:6–7, ESV)

Go. Tell his disciples, AND PETER.

Tell his disciples, and Peter, that he is going back to Galilee. Jesus makes the same promise he made before Peter denied him.

“And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same. ” (Mark 14:27–31, ESV)

Jesus is offering a new start.

Jesus is going back to the place where it all began. He is going back to where he met the disciples the first time. He is returning to the place where Peter’s identity was first changed.

A new beginning.

A way to erase the failings of the past and start fresh down a new path.

Jesus is wiping the slate clean.

Jesus takes that past which we cannot wipe out, and makes it clean. He takes our lives, tainted with the residue of our past mistakes and make it new again.

Jesus offers nothing less than new life.

This message isn’t just for Peter, it is also for us.

Our pasts no longer dictate who we are. Our pasts no longer have control over us. How awesome it is to be freed from our guilt and shame. To receive this cleansing that makes us into people who are righteous, who are holy, who are pure.

If you are searching for forgiveness. If there is something in your past that has been dogging you for a while. If you have had to tell lie after lie to try and cover up a sin that you continue to commit. If you have been unable to shake this feeling like everything in your life is contaminated by what you have done in the past, know that Jesus includes you in his invitation to new life.

“And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” ” (Mark 16:6–7, ESV)

Jesus is not here. He has risen. He has done what he said he would. He has paid for our rebellion. He has borne our punishment.

This is not logical.

This is not understandable.

This is not explainable.

Then again, love never is.

““For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ” (John 3:16–17, NIV)

Jesus came, not to hold us accountable for the things that linger on our slate.

Jesus came to wipe it clean.

May you let go of a past that you cannot erase.

May you accept the offer of a fresh start, a clean slate.

May you have the assurance that through Jesus you have new life.

“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” ” (Matthew 26:36–46, NIV)

Sometimes it is easy to read a passage like this and sort of drift right over it. We hear the stories of Jesus’s life so often that we don’t really let the reality of what is happening sink in.

As we come to this place of real struggle for Jesus, we, like the disciples, seem to fall asleep.

We have heard this story so often in no longer strikes us as odd, but this has got to be one of the strangest accounts that has ever been recorded. Here is Jesus, a man born to a virgin named Mary, descended from the line of that great king, David, a person who has declared himself to be the one who fulfils the prophecies of renewal given in the old testament.

One whom God himself declared to be his beloved Son.

One whom the angels heralded as Immanuel, God with us.

And here he is in a garden, really struggling with the path that lay before him.

Jesus knows what is going to happen. He knows what lays before him. He knows Judas has gone out to betray him. He knows that his death is coming, he has known it for a long time.

Why, then, is he struggling so much with it now?

“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ” (Matthew 26:36–37, NIV)

Jesus began to be sorrowful and troubled.

He started to really realise what it was he had committed himself to do.

This passage marks a significant shift in how things are going to work out for Jesus. Prior to this, Jesus has been very much in control. He has gone where he wanted to go, he has been rather free in his ministry. He has challenged the authority of the Pharisees, and the other religious leaders of the day, but now he is essentially giving up control of his future.

When he leaves this garden he places complete trust in the Father’s will, but that trust comes only after surrender.

“Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” ” (Matthew 26:38–39, NIV)

Jesus is struggling with what is placed before him. He knows what must be done but he struggles with acceptance.

“… My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” ” (Matthew 26:39–41, NIV)

The disciples miss the significance of this night.

Jesus is already being abandoned. He is only about a stone’s throw from Peter, James, and John. They can see his anguish. They may even be able to pick up a word of two of his tortured prayer.

But they fall asleep.

“He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. ” (Matthew 26:42–43, NIV)

Jesus tells them to watch, to stay awake, to be attentive to what God is doing around them, but their eyes are heavy.

The word translated heavy is the Greek word βαρέω which is not used very often in the scriptures, and it is only used once in the Greek translation of the Old Testament in Exodus 7.

It is a word used to describe the state of Pharaoh’s heart in regard to the demand of God to let his people go.

This chapter begins the great showdown between Moses and Pharaoh. Moses has declared to Pharaoh that God wants his people free, but Pharaoh has claimed the Israelites as his own. So, Moses goes before Pharaoh, has his staff turn into a snake, but the Egyptian magicians were able to do the same thing by their arts.

But Pharaoh was stubborn and refused to acknowledge Yahweh.

“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding (it is heavy, it is כָּבֵ֖ד in the Hebrew, or βαρέω in the Greek); he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert. But until now you have not listened. This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. ” (Exodus 7:14–17, NIV)

The plague of blood is the first plague that was sent against Pharaoh and marks the beginning of the mighty acts of God in setting his people free from slavery in Egypt.

The word that is used to describe Pharaoh’s response to God’s claim on his people is the same word used to describe the disciples as they sleep there in the garden.

The disciples do not know what is going on. They have no idea they are on the brink of another Exodus. They do not expect what is going to happen.

Their eyes were heavy.

Here was Jesus struggling to find some way to free his people from slavery to sin, his creation from bondage to decay. Trying to find some way to end the cycles of violence, of distrust, of rejection.

Knowing that the old would have to die for the new to come.

There as he struggled with the cup that lay before him, he same to trust that the only way for a seed to bear fruit is if it first falls to the ground and dies.

The only way he could save us was if he laid his life in the hands of his Father and trusted that he would carry him through.

He now understood that he had to die.

Jesus overcame the struggle to trust the Father.

And we go on sleeping.

We do not expect this kind of suffering, this kind of wrestling with the path laid before him. We do not expect the Son of God to wrestle with his calling with his entire being.

But it is through this wrestling that Jesus surrenders to the Father. It is through this struggle that he opens himself up to what what he will do for us.

It is through his struggle that we receive redemption.

It is here, in this garden, that our eternal destiny is reversed.

The writer to the Hebrews puts it this way.

“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him ” (Hebrews 5:7–9, NIV)

It is through the Son’s obedience we gain eternal salvation. It is through his death we gain life.

Through the Son’s obedience.

Not our parents’s

Not our spouse’s

not our brother’s or sister’s, nor anyone else’s.

It is through the Son’s obedience that we gain access to the Father.

Our struggle is to trust that is true.

To trust that Jesus has overcome death. To trust that through the cross we are counted free. To trust that through Jesus, God has enacted the greatest Exodus humanity has ever seen.

He has set us free from our own rebellion.

Jesus earned our salvation because he trusted the Father.

“Then [Jesus] returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” ” (Matthew 26:45–46, NIV)

As Jesus faces his death he places his hope in the one who will see him through.

He lays his life in the hands of his Father,

He trusts that even in his death their purposes will be fulfilled.

He commits his future to the one who has everything in his hands.

To the one who will see him through.

The one who will see us through.

As we prepare to remember Jesus’s death and resurrection once again, may you witness the mighty acts of God as he brings about a new Exodus.

May you come to trust that it is through the Son’s obedience that you gain access to the Father.

May you lay your life at the cross and receive the new life that is freely given.

“The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). ” (John 1:35–42, ESV)

"What are you seeking?" Jesus asks these disciples. "Why are you following me? What do you hope to get from me? What do you hope to see me do? What do you want from me? What are you seeking?"

These disciples were seeking the Messiah. They had gathered around John the Baptist, because they saw in him something new. In John they heard the voice of a prophet. They heard the voice of God who had been silent for centuries.

In John they heard hope, because from John they heard that God was coming.

Look at John 1:19

“Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.” They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ”” (John 1:19–23, NIV)

This comes from Isaiah 40.

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” ” (Isaiah 40:1–5, NIV)

John identifies himself as the one who is preparing the way for the glory of God, and the every next day he points out Jesus as the fulfilment of these hopes.

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” ” (John 1:29–34, NIV)

John sets up some pretty big expectations for Jesus. Expectations of renewal, of forgiveness, of redemption. The Jews viewed their current political situation as one of punishment for rebellion. They had returned from exile, but they had never really experienced the blessing of a self-ruled kingdom.

They have been subject to other nations ever since and there was an expectation that God would come and change that situation.

And now John points to Jesus and says, "That’s the person you are looking for."

“The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” ” (John 1:35–36, NIV)

So the disciples follow. After a bit, Jesus turns around, looks at these two guys who are quietly following him and says, "What are you seeking?"

Over the past few years there seems to have been a lot of those post-apocalyptic films. Films where some kind of major catastrophe had wiped out the majority of the people on earth and those who are left have to fight some incredible odds to simply survive. There is the sense that humanity is destined, not for greatness, but for some kind of calamity.

We seem to have lost faith in ourselves.

Which is, I suppose, a good thing over all. The last century was full of optimism for the progress of the human race, optimism that proved a bit misplaced. We seemed to think that technology, science, and engineering was going to be able to create a better future for humanity, and yet that century was the bloodiest of all history.

It seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Our culture seems to fit the mood of the Teacher in Ecclesiastes.

“The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” What does man gain from all his labour at which he toils under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. ” (Ecclesiastes 1:1–10, NIV)

There is this sense that nothing is really going to change. That the world is never really going to change. That others are never really going to change. That we are never going to change.

A few years back I was helping my brother-in-law build a house. Since we were both busy with other things, we worked evenings and weekends together.

One night we were talking about fighting with our spouses, I had recently been married. He told me about one of the first fights he had with my sister, and I mean a real rip-roaring fight not a little spat. They had been into it for a while, and he finally turned to her and said, “I guess I’m just a bad, bad, man.”

Needless to say, that did not go over well.

When he said that, it was tantamount to passing the whole thing off and saying, “That is just the way I am, there is nothing I can do about it. You are just going to have to live with it.”

This, says Father Ron Rolheiser, is the definition of despair.

"Real despair … is the belief that nothing new can ever happen to us. We despair when, however unconsciously, we say: “That is the way I am, that is the way things will always be for me. For me, it is too late.”

This is despair because it rules out all hope, it does not see a way forward, it does not expect the unexpected. Despair does not allow for the possibility of God, of resurrection. Rolheiser puts it this way.

"To rule out the possibility of surprise, novelty, absolute newness, is to block the Resurrection."

To expect that things will always go on the way they have, that nothing is going to change. That we just are this way and nothing will change is to rule out the possibility of Easter.

“Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. ” (John 1:38–39, NIV)

Whatever the disciples were seeking for, they followed Jesus. They went with him and stayed with him for the night.

Then Andrew goes to get his brother.

“Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter). ” (John 1:40–42, NIV)

This is the start of Peter’s journey with Jesus, a journey which has its ups and downs. A journey that tests and eventually shatters Peters expectations about who the Christ is. A journey that we are invited to take with him.

If we give ourselves over to the journey of Lent, we will be opened up to new possibilities, to new expectations. The journey of Lent opens us up to the wonder of resurrection.

New life.

Not more of the same, not just a raised level of happiness, new life.

Something completely different than anything we have experienced up until this point.

May we open our lives to the possibility of newness, of difference, of resurrection.

May the Spirit lift us out of our routines and give us something we never expected.

When Jesus turns and asks you, “What are you seeking?” May you respond, “You.”

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. ” (Ephesians 4:1–16, ESV)

“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ” (Ephesians 4:11–12, NIV)

This is the last week that we will be dealing with the book of Ephesians, since next week marks the first Sunday of Lent. We have seen Paul describing some pretty unreal things in this book. He opens with this amazing claim that before the foundation of the world God has made a home for us, and neither the brokenness we find out there or in here is able to separate us from that inheritance. Last week Paul urged us to remember who we were, so that we could become who we are. The divisions that we love to draw in our society have been destroyed in Christ and so this community is meant to be a place where we begin to experience that home God has prepared for us.

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. ” (Ephesians 4:1–6, NIV)

For how many of us, when I say, "Church," the first thing we think of is this building? This is normally how we speak, right? We say we are going to church, and we mean this building. We host programs at the church. Our church has white paint on it and wooden pews. The problem with this, is that for the Biblical writers the church had absolutely nothing to do with a building. Many of the communities did not even have dedicated buildings to meet in, they met in their homes.

For Paul, the church is the people.

The church is the body of Christ, made up of the members who have accepted God’s invitation of new life.

“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. ” (Ephesians 4:4–6, ESV)

The church is a group of people responding to God’s invitation to receive new life.

When we become a Christian, we are incorporated into a community. When we are adopted as God’s children, we are incorporated into a family; a privilege which also carries a responsibility.

When a child is really young we do very little to try to change behaviour. We might try to get them to stop sucking their thumbs, or biting their clothes, or other children. But as a child grows older, we begin to increase the expectations on their behaviour. When my three year old son pushes over his one year old sister I say, "We do not push other people over." We, as parents, start to instil in our children a sense of identity and expectations about that identity. It is not as though he will stop being a part of our family if he continues to push his sister over, but we will try our hardest to show him that being a part of our family means being nice to others (including his little sister).

We are vastly different people, but we are all a part of the same family, each with a different job to do. We have each been given grace just as Jesus gave it to us, grace to equip us for works of service.

“But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. ” (Ephesians 4:7, NIV)

Then Paul goes into a bit of an aside to prove that it was Jesus who gave these gifts.

“This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.”(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) ” (Ephesians 4:8–10, NIV)

Then he returns to his exposition of the diversity of gifts given to us by Christ.

“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ” (Ephesians 4:11–12, NIV)

Jesus gave us the church structure, with its variety of roles, (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) to prepare or equip us for works us service. All of these things are gifts to help us walk in a way that makes him proud.

The role of the administration, the pastor, the elders, the deacons, is not to DO the work of ministry but to help all of you to do God’s work; to do works of righteousness (to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, visit the sick and those in prison, clothe the naked, and welcome the stranger) and to build up the body of Christ.

I am here to help you serve those inside and outside these walls.

The real work of the church happens not here on Sunday, but the other six days of the week as each of you are participating in God’s work in the world. Membership in the church is not for those who have everything figured out. Membership in the church is a response to God’s invitation to participate with him in the renewal of all things.

You might put it this way; when you become a member of this church, or any local body of believers for that matter, you declare yourself an agent for change in a world desperate for renewal.

God’s invitation is to join him in spreading Shalom.

A couple of weeks ago we watched a part of the video 1000 questions made for the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. Lets watch a bit of that again, and see how she answers those questions.

If we begin to see our role, not as consumers of God’s benefits through this building, but as a community that rejoices with those who rejoice, that mourns with those who mourn. If we see ourselves as people who are able to give a word of comfort to the broken hearted, a prayer for those who are too weak to pray for themselves, a cup of cold water to the thirsty, then we will be people who are firmly rooted in the life of Christ.

“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. ” (Ephesians 4:11–16, NIV)

I heard this story about a woman named Marva Dawn.

"Marva was born in Ohio in 1948, she is a lifelong scholar, having earned four masters degrees and a PhD. She is also a teaching fellow at Regent College in Vancouver, BC, and is involved with the organisation Christians Equipped for Ministry. Marva has written many books, is a gifted musician, and speaks to clergy and at conferences all over the world.

One of her books, Unfettered Hope: A Call to Faithful Living in an Affluent Society, specifically addresses what a faithful response looks like in our culture. Her life is a reflection of her belief that seemingly small acts of faithfulness can have a profound and significant impact on the world. All of the profits of her books go to support charities like Stand With Africa: A Campaign of Hope, which ‘supports African churches and communities as they withstand AIDS, banish hunger, and build peace.’

Marva and her husband live off his teacher’s salary, which is not much. … She cannot imagine spending to make her life more comfortable when so many people are desperate and dying throughout our world. She says that her 1980 Volkswagen Bug, with its broken heater helps her focus more on prayer and to better identify with those in need."

Or this one about the Robynson Family.

The Robynson Family, a family of five, with three kids under the age of ten, chooses to celebrate the birth of Christ in a unique way. On Christmas mornings, instead of focussing on the presents under the tree, they make pancakes, brew an urn of coffee, and head downtown. Once there, they load the coffee and food into the back of a red wagon. Then, with the eager help of their three-year-old, they pull the wagon around the mostly empty streets in search of homeless folks to offer a warm and filling breakfast on Christmas morning.

All three of the Robynson kids look forward to this time of giving a little bit of tangible love to people who otherwise would have been cold and probably without breakfast. Can you think of a better way to start the holiday that celebrates the God who is love?"(Francis Chan, Crazy Love, pp 153-61)

There was this family I knew growing up who always had a huge pot of soup on the stove for Sunday lunch. Whenever they came to church, they would search for those people who looked like they needed some company. It might be a new young family who just moved to the area. It might be an elderly lady who just lost her husband. It may be a couple of college students who are missing their parents. It may be a couple who is just beginning to experience the quiet of an empty nest. Whoever it was, they would invite them over to share the day. There were very few Sundays that family did not have strangers around their table.

“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. ” (Ephesians 4:11–13, NIV)

God is giving you an opportunity to respond to the hurt and brokenness in this world, which is not just "out there", by the way. There is plenty of pain, loneliness and despair within these walls as well.

God’s invitation is to live a different way; to participate in a movement of the Holy Spirit that is turning this world upside down, or better put putting it back right side up.

May you respond to God’s invitation to walk with him.

May you declare to the world that you are a part of this body and that God has made you an agent for change.

When those sitting beside you, or across the globe cry out, "Who will come and set us free?" May you answer, "Here am I, send me!"