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Do I Lie?

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Do I Lie?

May 07, 2023*

By Pastor John Partridge

John 14:1-14              Acts 7:55-60               1 Peter 2:2-10

During the fourth season of the television situation comedy, The Office, one member of the team refused to participate during a staff brainstorming session and clearly said “No” when asked to do so. When the office manager pressed him further for his participation, he angrily shouted “Did I stutter?” That line has since become an often-repeated internet meme applied to all sorts of other situations. We can relate to his frustration.

We are sometimes dumbfounded by the way that the people around us aren’t listening, or left speechless because, despite spending time with us, act as if they don’t know us at all. In those moments our brain is churning and our reaction is much like “Did I stutter?” We wonder how we could have spent so many hours, or years, with that friend, that coworker, or that family member, and somehow, they missed understanding something about us that we thought should have been pretty obvious.

These can be those moments when we just stop, stare, and think, “Are you serious right now?”

Just before the words of today’s reading from the gospel of John, Jesus had told his disciples that he was leaving, and where he was going they could not follow but would follow later. The disciples are distressed. Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

We usually read past that quickly and barely notice it. It doesn’t seem like much. But Jesus responds to the distress of Peter and the other disciples as if they have completely missed something important that he’s been trying to tell them for three years, which, if we’re honest, seemed to happen with some regularity.

But with that in mind, we join the story in John 14:1-14, where we hear Jesus say…

14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 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. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will knowmy Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Jesus says, “…if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” And it is as if he is saying, ‘Did I stutter?’ ‘Do I lie?’ Haven’t you been with me for the last three years? Don’t you know you I am and what I represent? Would I ever be the kind of person that tells you that I am going to do something, that I wasn’t going to do? By now, after three years of ministry together, Jesus seems to have expected that the disciples would… trust.

This entire conversation is like that. Philip wants Jesus to show them the Father, but Jesus insists that showing them the Father is exactly what he’s been doing for the last three years. “Don’t you know me, Philip? Even after I have been among you for such a long time?” By now you know me. And because you know me, you know my father.

Most of us can weigh in on that from our own experience. Of the people in this room, there is Pastor Chris, my wife Patti, and maybe one or two others who met my father. But I would be willing to bet, that on the day that you meet him on the other side of glory, you will not be surprised. If you know me, you already know a lot about my father.

What Jesus is saying is, ‘You already know me. What you need to do now is to trust me and to believe in me.”

Not long afterwards, perhaps three to six months later, that is exactly what Stephen is doing. Stephen is not a disciple, at least, not one of the twelve disciples, but he has heard the good news of Jesus Christ, he has trusted Jesus, put his faith in Jesus, and Acts 6:8 says, “Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.” But for doing good, for performing signs and wonders, probably healing the sick and casting out demons, and other things that the religious leaders couldn’t do, he gets arrested, put on trial, and condemned to death.  And at his trial the Sanhedrin ask him if there is truth to the accusations against him, and rather than defend himself, he preaches the truth and confronts them with the reality that they are responsible for the murder of Jesus but also for enabling his resurrection. They’re so furious that they rush outside to execute Stephen by stoning, in Acts 7:55-60.

55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Stephen trusted, then he believed, and then he testified to the truth regardless of the cost.

But what should we do?

We have not been in the presence of Jesus, or his disciples. We do not yet have the faith to heal the sick and rarely have the opportunity to cast out demons. What should we do? That is exactly the question that Peter seems to be answering in his letter to the followers of Jesus Christ in Asia minor in 1 Peter 2:2-10 when he says…

2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual houseto be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.”

7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”

8 and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 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.

Peter says, “crave pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”

“Crave pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”

Crave pure spiritual milk.

Think about that.

Peter says, start small. You don’t start working in your profession and expect to start as the CEO. You start at the bottom and work your way up. You don’t start life by collecting your pension. You begin at the beginning. You start small, but you are expected to grow and to mature. You are being built into a spiritual house.  You aren’t there yet, but you are under construction and sometimes construction is messy. You are being built into a spiritual house and a holy priesthood so that you can offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the cornerstone of our church and everything that we do. But while some people will build on that cornerstone, others will only be able to trip over it. It’s the same stone but they stumble because they refuse to obey the instructions that came with it.

You are under construction but even in the messiness of the building process, you are already a chosen people, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation.

First you trust.

After you trust, then you believe.

After you believe, then you testify.

And after you testify, then you build.

You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation.

Jesus said so. And if you doubt him, you might just hear him ask…

… Did I stutter?         

… “Do I lie?”

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Who is “They”?

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Who is “They”?

April 30, 2023*

By Pastor John Partridge

John 10:1-10              Acts 2:42-47               1 Peter 2:19-25

Who are “they?”

In conversations with political topics of all kinds, speakers and writers refer to “they” as the people on the other side of their argument, or as generalized groups of immigrants, or people of color, or persons in poverty, or wealthy persons, or any other group that the speaker wishes to communicate as outsiders, outcasts, or “the other” and to linguistically paint their existence with disfavor.

The rock and roll band, The Who, famously asked, “Who are you?”  If you attend a home game of the Cincinnati Bengals, you will likely her a stadium chant that asks, “Who dey?”  And, of course, in our modern discussion of gendered pronouns, those who choose to use neutral pronouns wish to be described as “They/Them” rather than he, she, him, or her.

But you may be relieved to hear, none of those things are what I mean by “Who is They?” Instead, several of today’s scriptures refer to “they.” And, while each case is a little different, I think that we’ll learn something from looking a little deeper.  We begin in John 10:1-10 where we find Jesus use an illustration, and then patiently explaining the meaning of that illustration and, at the end, we will find Jesus refer to this group of “they” several times.  Jesus said…

10:1 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, …

And you can almost hear him begin to speak very slowly…

 … I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved [“kept safe” is an alternate translation]. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

In this case, Jesus says that “whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” In this case, those who follow Jesus are the people who are “they” and, if we have accepted Jesus Christ and have chosen to follow him, them “we” are “they.”

But in Acts 2:42-47, the situation is just a little different.  In this case, “they” isn’t us… but it could be.  Luke says…

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 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, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

“They” devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, “they” sold property and possessions to give to those in need, “they” continued to meet together in the temple courts, “they” broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.  In this case, “they” isn’t just the disciples of Jesus.  If we back up two verses, the subject of the sentence appears, and we learn just who “they” is.  Verse 40 says, “40With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” So, in this case, “they” is everyone who accepted Peter’s message, which was the good news of Jesus Christ. “They” were everyone who was baptized and who were added to the number of believers.  So, while none of us were there, and technically, that isn’t us, it could be.  If we accept Jesus Christ, are baptized, devote ourselves to the teaching of the apostles, to fellowship and breaking bread, to giving generous gifts to those in need, and to regularly meeting together, then once again, “they” is “us.”

But we won’t find this elusive “they” in 1 Peter 2:19-25 because Peter is much more personal.  Here, Peter pointedly addresses “you” and “we” rather than “they,” saying…

19 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. 20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

22 “He committed no sin,
    and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Peter says that you were called to follow Jesus Christ, to live the kind of life that he modeled for us, and to do his work, even if that means that others don’t like it.  If we suffer because of the good that we are doing, then our suffering is commendable before God.  We have entrusted our lives to Jesus Christ.  It was by his wounds that we are healed.  We were once lost and astray, but now we have returned to him and trust him to guide us.

Jesus said “whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.”

Luke said, “They” devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, “they” sold property and possessions to give to those in need, “they” continued to meet together in the temple courts, “they” broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.

“We” are “they.” 

But sometimes we go astray and drift off course.  As Pogo famously said in 1970, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”  But the sheep that have gone astray, can return to the guidance of the good shepherd. 

Let us answer his call, follow him, and do his will, even if we must suffer for doing good.

Let us, once again, entrust ourselves to him who judges justly, for “by his wounds you have been healed.”

For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Let us repay our rescuer for his indescribable gift by living lives that point to him and give him glory.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Purity, Lobsters, and Poly-Cotton Blends

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Purity, Lobsters, and Poly-Cotton Blends

by John Partridge

One our recent class reading assignments has covered a range of issues surrounding the idea of purity and holiness in the nation of Israel (and the diaspora) as described in the Old Testament. As you likely know, many of the rules and regulations surrounding these two ideas of purity and holiness are found in the book of Leviticus where we also find God describing to Moses the fundamentals of worship, the design of God’s worship space, the sacrificial system and, perhaps most importantly, who and what God desires for his followers to be. 

As Protestant Christians in the twenty-first century, many, if not most of us, just kind of skip over Leviticus (and most everywhere else that rules about purity and holiness crop up) for several reasons. Let’s face it, it’s a little boring because it’s full of lists and genealogies, we’ve been convinced that all those purity codes don’t apply to us, and… if we’re honest, some of them are just downright weird. So weird in fact, that non-Christians point them out in an effort to describe our faith as something illogical or nonsensical.

But after diving a little deeper and learning more about it, some of those purity rules aren’t as strange as they might at first appear.  But before I get to that, I want to back up to my first paragraph and look at the last sentence.  It’s that last part that I think is most important.  God lays out his system of worship, the sacrificial system, the rules about purity and holiness because all of those things point to who and what God desires for his followers to be.  And so, even though our Christianity (thankfully) doesn’t sacrifice animals, or follow ancient Jewish rules about purity and holiness, those parts we skip over can still tell us something about who God want us to be as his people.

It’s worth noting that Israel wasn’t the only nation with holiness or purity codes.  Other nations, and other gods, had rules that had to be followed, and purifying rituals that had to be performed, before coming into the presence of their god or entering their temples. So, holiness or purification wasn’t unusual in and of itself. What made Israel’s God different was that he didn’t just call his people to follow these rules to enter the Tabernacle or to worship him, although there was a set of rules for that. What stands out was that Israel’s God intended for his people to follow these rules all the time so that they could be purer and holier than the people and the cultures that surrounded them.  God’s intention was for them to be different and to stand out because of it.  Three times in Leviticus (in chapters 19, 21, and 22) God instructs his people saying, “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy,” (NIV) or some similar variation.

So how do rules about food, clothing, work, and a pile of other things accomplish that?  Honestly, there are things that we find in those lists that never made any sense to me.  Sure, taking a ritual bath before entering the Temple made some sense. Much like our concept of baptism, it isn’t hard to envision a ritual bath as both a physical and ritual cleansing and leaving our impurities behind us before coming into God’s presence.  But there are a bunch of other things on those lists that just seem weird. I mean, what’s wrong with lobsters?  I like lobster and crab, but they were both absolutely forbidden to a Jew.  And what about pork, or clothing made of two kinds of fabric? And what was the deal about skin diseases, sex, menstrual cycles, nocturnal emissions, anything to do with blood, or dead animals?

Admittedly, that’s a lot of stuff. But it all goes back to, “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”

The logic behind it all began simply with the belief that God was perfect and holy.  We still believe that. And so, if God has called his people to be holy, then they must, as much as possible, do things that make them fit to be in God’s presence and to physically be the kind of holy people God called them to be. We still believe that too. But all those rules about purity and holiness flowed out of this belief. We can understand the logic as if these ancient people imagined what a perfect world would be like so that they could be perfect enough, and holy enough, for a perfect and holy God.  Genesis is clear that the world we live in is broken, so what would the earth have looked like before it was broken? The Israelites’ answer that to that question was that in a perfect world, everything would fit into sensible categories and classifications.  That isn’t an outrageous assumption. Modern science is based on entire systems of classifications to make sense of our world. We have the periodic table to classify elements and the taxonomic system that categorizes every plant and animal on earth into seven classifications of kingdom, phylum class, order, family, genus, and species.

Obviously, five thousand years ago (give or take a couple thousand), the categories weren’t so complex. But for them, “clean” things were those things that seemed to fit into a sensible order and didn’t cross boundaries. First, blood was life-giving.  And so, any animal that took life, or ate blood, like predators or scavengers, was not clean. Fish were clean, but fish with skin or legs like a land animal, were not clean. People could be clean, but bodily fluids, which were supposed to be on the inside, made people unclean if they were on the outside. That’s how lepers with skin diseases, menstruating women, men who had a nocturnal emission, or anyone with an open wound were defined as unclean. And in that system of classification and boundaries, while linen (which is made from stems of the flax plant) and wool (which comes from sheep or goats) were each fine for use as clothing, mixing them (possibly because one was from a plant and the other from an animal) was seen as crossing boundaries, and was therefore prohibited.

When we understand this system of classification, the Old Testament rules of purity and holiness make a lot more sense. But why does it matter? We aren’t Jewish and the rules about food and purity don’t apply to us.  Right?

Well, no. And yes.

We aren’t bound by Jewish dietary rules or many of the others. But, as the followers of God, we are still connected to their intent. We still believe that God speaks to us when he says, “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” We are still called to be different from our culture, and to be a holy people who are set apart by God. That’s why we still talk about sin and living a life that looks like the one Jesus modeled for us. We may not follow the Old Testament codes of purity and holiness, but our calling is the same. In our own, Protestant Christian, twenty-first century way, we are still called to live lives that are pure, holy, and different from the people around us.

God still calls us to stand out from the crowd… and be a little weird.

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Few. Many. You.

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Few. Many. You.

April 09, 2023*

(Easter Sunday)

By Pastor John Partridge

John 20:1-18              Acts 10:34-43             Colossians 3:1-4

In 1984, the Faberge company hired popular actress and model, Heather Locklear to star in a commercial for their new line of Faberge Organics shampoo.  In that commercial, Heather Locklear says that she was so impressed by the results of using this new shampoo, that she told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on.  And with each repletion of those words, the image of Heather Locklear doubles, and continues to multiply.  Many of us remember that commercial. 

But whether we remember seeing it or not, it is a good representation of what happens when we learn of new products that excite us, or hear juicy gossip, or any other kind of news that gets us excited.  And this is the way that the news of the resurrection happened.  There wasn’t a mobile television news crew from channel eight broadcasting live from Jesus’ tomb, nor were there any newspaper reporters or internet bloggers skulking around looking for a scoop that would sell newspapers or make their blog go viral.  News, even incredibly exciting news, traveled the old fashioned way, one person told their friends, and they told their friends, and so on, and so on, and so on.  And that’s exactly what we see in the story of the resurrection recorded for us by the Apostle John in John 20:1-18.

20:1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

First, I want to notice that everyone is running.  This isn’t the kind of news that is merely interesting and you think to yourself that you’ll need to tell someone the next time you see them.  This is earth-shaking, life or death, call 911 and start CPR, kind of news.  First, Mary Magdalene finds the empty tomb, then Simon Peter and John run to join her and see for themselves.  Then the disciples leave and Mary is left alone, only to be joined buy two angels, and then by Jesus.  But, after Jesus leaves, Mary runs to the place where the disciples are staying so that she can tell as many people as possible. 

The message of the resurrection began with only one, and then to only a few, but it didn’t end there or none of us would be here this morning.  Not too long after the resurrection of Jesus, on the day of Pentecost, Peter and the disciples were still in Jerusalem.  But now, instead of hiding, they shared the good news of Jesus’ resurrection with a crowd of many people as we hear in the story of Acts 10:34-43.

34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Rather than sharing the news with two friends, who can share with two more friends, Peter speaks to a crowd of people from every nation to which Jews had migrated.  Being one of the required feasts, pilgrims from everywhere had come to Jerusalem and there, Peter and the disciples shared with them the story of Jesus and the news of his crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection.  The reason that this story is good news is that it is not limited to one group of friends, to one group of people, or to one nation.  Peter preaches that he now knows that “God does not show favoritism” so the people who had come there from Africa, and Asia, and everywhere, are just as known, and just as loved, by God as the people who live in Jerusalem.  God’s love, grace, and forgiveness are not limited by ethnicity or geography, but are now available to everyone who believes.

But that wasn’t the end of the story either.  Decades later, when Paul wrote his letter to the church that he had founded in the city of Colossae, in what is now the nation of Turkey, he says this in Colossians 3:1-4:

3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

On Easter morning, Mary Magdalene discovered that she was the only one who knew the truth, but then she told two friends, and those friends told more friends, and eventually announced the good news to many, and soon that news was traveling all over the known world.  And here, in the worlds of Paul, we find God’s call to us. “Since you” (that’s us) “have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above.  Set your minds on things above and not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden in Christ with God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”  Like Mary Magdalene on Easter morning, and like the disciples at Pentecost, we are witnesses.  We have received, and we are the carriers of the greatest pieces of good news ever shared from one human to another.  Like Mary, and the disciples, and legions of people since then, we are still called to share the good news that we have received.  Although millennia have passed, this news is so good, far better than the discovery of a new organic shampoo, that we are still called to tell our friends and our neighbors what we have seen, and what we have heard.  And, like always, when we tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on, then our good news will find its way… to everyone.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Confident Submission

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Confident Submission

April 07, 2023*

(Good Friday)

By Pastor John Partridge

Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9                    Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12

When you do the things that you do, are you sure, are you certain, are you confident?

When we drive our cars, are we confident in our ability to navigate, to drive defensively, and to arrive safely at our destination?  When we go to work, are we confident, because of our education, skill, and experience, that we can do whatever our employers ask of us?

But how are you at submission?

Those of us who are married likely were asked a question like this:

“Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her?”

And we said, “I will.”

But there in the middle, where it said, “honor and keep him or her” in years past, might well have been worded to say, that we should submit to one another.  Now, we just say that we should “honor” one another, but the meaning is the same.  We honor our spouses by valuing their opinion, submitting to them, and doing the things that they want to do instead of the things that we want to do.  Of course, that has to be a two-way street.  Life is all about balance.

For that reason, at least in the case of our spouses, we are often both comfortable, and confident, in our submission.  We are accustomed to the give and take of a healthy relationship.  Sometimes our spouses do things because we like them, and sometimes we do things that may not be our favorite things, just because we know that our spouse likes them and because it makes them happy.

And it is this kind of healthy obedience and submission that I think we see in the description of the coming Messiah that we find in Isaiah 52 and 53.  It’s worth reading.  I’m not going to take the time to read all of it this evening, but in it we hear things like:

52:13 See, my servant will act wisely he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him, his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness.

3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.

 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

That was the kind of person that Israel expected as their Messiah, and that’s the kind of person that we meet in the person of Jesus Christ.  The writer of Hebrews, in Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 says this:

4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

God heard the prayers of Jesus because of his obedience and reverent submission.  Jesus knew exactly what waited for him in Jerusalem and he went anyway.  Jesus knew that the members of the Sanhedrin were conspiring to kill him, but he went anyway.  He knew that the path that lay in front of him was filled with suffering, pain, and death, but he went anyway.  He did not turn aside from God’s will, he did not swerve, he did not flinch from his calling because he was confident in God, confident in the will of God, and confident in his submission to God.

The writer of Hebrews said, 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

God asks for our submission.

Can we do any less?

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*You have been reading a message presented at First Christian Church in Alliance, Ohio on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

What Should We Remember?

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What Should We Remember?

April 06, 2023*

(Holy Thursday)

By Pastor John Partridge

Exodus 12:1-4, 11-14                         John 13:1-17, 31b-35            1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Even a cursory glance at our history books reminds us that there are a great many things that we are supposed to remember.  We have been told that we should “Remember the Alamo,” “Remember the Maine,” “Remember the Lusitania,” remember Pearl Harbor, remember 9-11, and those don’t even count the movies that asked us to “Remember the Titans,” or political slogans like “Remember the Dreamers.”  Probably a good percentage of the people in this room could not tell me why we’re supposed to remember the Maine and even less what we should remember about the Lusitania even though most of those things happened less than 100 years ago and all of them happened within the last 200 years.

But some of the things that we are called upon to remember in church happened two thousand years ago, and others closer to 3500 years ago.  So, what is it that we should remember?  Specifically, as it relates to Holy Week and Easter, the first, and oldest, of these things is found in the story of Passover and the rescue of the people of Israel from their slavery in Egypt, roughly speaking depending on whether you believe in an early or a late date, around 1300 BCE.  We find God’s command to remember that event in Exodus 12:1-4, 11-14.

12:1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lambfor his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat.

11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.

12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.

After Israel is rescued from eight hundred years of slavery in Egypt, God commands them to celebrate that rescue every year so that they can remember it forever.

But then, more than a thousand years later, while Jesus and his disciples were celebrating Passover, Jesus gave them a new thing to remember.  We find that command in the story found in John 13:1-17, 31b-35.

13:1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

31 Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Jesus didn’t repeal God’s command to remember Passover, he added to it.  Jesus said that just as they remembered God’s grace and the rescue of Israel from slavery, his followers should always remember how much he loved them.  But the way that they should remember his love was to love the people around them the way that Jesus had loved, to love with such an extravagant love, that everyone would know that they were his followers.

But that wasn’t the only thing that Jesus asked them to remember.  In 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, the Apostle Paul remembers something else that Jesus wanted his people to remember forever.  Paul says…

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

And so, much like “Remember the Alamo,” but far more urgent and enduring, God commands us to remember. What God wants us to remember is that although it took longer than they expected, God never stopped loving his people and rescued them from their slavery and distress.  God wants us to remember that his Son loved the people around him, and us, with an extravagant kind of love.  Jesus calls all of us who follow him to remember how much he loved, and calls us to love the people around us with the same extravagant, costly, even life-threatening love with which Jesus loved.  And finally, in place of sharing an annual Passover meal, Jesus asks us to regularly share this meal, the Eucharist, or communion, to remind us of all these things.  We share this meal together to remember the life, death, resurrection, and crazy, extravagant, costly, love of Jesus Christ and to remember that the love with which Jesus loved us, is the love to which he calls us to love others.

And that, is what we are supposed to remember.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

How Will God Change You?

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Ancient Meaning – Modern Application

Easter 2023

For the last several years, I have mentioned in this letter, that “this is an unusual time.”  But, for the most part, we are putting the unusual-ness of the pandemic behind us and accepting what’s left as a new normal.  We are going out to eat, holding church dinners, attending plays and concerts, and doing almost all of the things that we were doing before we first heard the acronym COVID-19.

But why does it matter that we are returning to normal?

It matters because a return to normal means that we can be done focusing only on surviving for the next few months or even for the next year.  Returning to normal means that our focus once again shifts to look farther into the future.  How do we envision Christ Church five years from now, a decade from now, or fifty years from now?  Shifting our focus requires that we imagine how Christ Church might be different and how it might change.  And imagining how Christ Church might change means that we must consider how we might change.  And considering how we might change must include both the plural and the singular, both we collectively, and each of us individually.

But those things are also a part of the message of Lent and Easter.  As we hear the familiar stories from scripture, as we read and listen to the story of Lazarus’ resurrection and his unprecedented second chance, as we hear the wonder in the voices of the crowd of witnesses, of the women who find an empty tomb, of the men walking to Emmaus with Jesus, of Thomas as he puts his hand in the Jesus’s wounds, and of the disciples who witness Jesus appear in a locked room, we must imagine with them, how our lives will be changed.

The resurrection of Jesus changed everything.  It changed the direction of the lives of everyone who knew him.  Peter and the others would never go back to their fishing boats because God had a different future planned for them.  And twenty-one centuries later, the resurrection of Jesus is still transforming lives.  As we celebrate Easter and move into the season of Eastertide, let us once again consider where God is leading us, how God intends to change us and transform us so that we are fit to do the work and the mission of the future that he has planned for us.

We are the disciples of Jesus Christ.

And God is still calling us to do his work.

Let us listen to his voice, consider what we must do, and how we might need to change in order to receive his blessings and arrive at the future that he has planned for us… for our children… for our grandchildren… and beyond.

Blessings,

Pastor John

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Storm Clouds

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Storm Clouds

April 02, 2023*

(Palm Sunday)

By Pastor John Partridge

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Matthew 21:1-11       John 11:45-57

Last week we read the story of Lazarus together.  It is an amazing story.  Jesus returns to the house of his friends, Mary and Martha, four days after their brother, and Jesus’s friend, had died and was sealed inside of his burial tomb.  At Jesus’ request, despite warnings that, after four days, the smell is going to be bad, they roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb and Jesus calls out to his friend and commands him to come out.  At Jesus’ command, Lazarus climbs out of the tomb still wrapped from head to toe in his grave clothes.

As I said, it is an amazing story.

But as we follow the recommended readings for Lent, these readings often seem to tell a happier story than the scriptures do.  Following the recommended lectionary readings would have us jump directly from Lazarus’ resurrection to Jesus’ triumphal entry on Palm Sunday.  The alternative reading would have us jump from Lazarus’ story directly to the story of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion.  But, as I mentioned at the end of last week’s service, there is an important part of the story that gets skipped over.  And so, today we’re going to begin right where we left off last week, with the story of Lazarus, and then follow Jesus into Jerusalem because both of these pieces are important to our understanding of how things were set in motion for the events that lead up to Good Friday and Easter.

So, let us rejoin Lazarus’ story right where we stopped last week.  Lazarus rises from the dead, climbs out of his tomb, Jesus asks folks to help Lazarus’ take off his grave clothes, everybody is amazed, and our scripture said, “45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.”

That’s nice, but that isn’t the end of the story because if we continue reading, this is what we hear in John 11:45-57.

45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

55 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?” 57 But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.

Sometimes, when we read the story of Jesus entry into Jerusalem, we wonder if anyone really noticed all the cheering, and shouting, and waving palm branches and this is especially true when we skip over the end of Lazarus’ story.  But when we read the second half of the Lazarus story, we see that the chief priests and the Pharisees were waiting and watching for Jesus’ arrival.  They had already decided that Jesus needed to die, and all the waving palm branches, and the shouts of Hosanna, only confirmed their decision and cemented their determination.

But, from the point of view of the disciples and other followers, Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem was a joyous occasion.  They had a completely different perspective.  So different in fact, that it almost seems like different story.  The people saw Jesus as a prophet, and they hoped that he would be the military messiah that would overthrow the Roman occupation and lead Israel to a renewed greatness, prominence, and notoriety.  We hear this story in Matthew 21:1-11.

21:1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5 “Say to Daughter Zion,
    ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosannato the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosannain the highest heaven!”

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

These acclamations tell us two things, first, they tell us about the expectations of the people and who they thought Jesus was, and second, they explain to us why the Pharisees, Sadducees, and other members of the ruling council saw Jesus as both a problem and a threat.

“Hosanna,” means “Save” or perhaps “Save us.”  It is the kind of thing that you would shout to a military or political leader in order to praise them, but also to express your hope in their leadership.  “Son of David” was often used as the title for the kings of Israel, and was used both figuratively for leaders that were not related to David, and literally for Kings that were genetically descended from David.  Waving palm branches may have also made a political statement.  Again, this was something that you did to welcome kings, royalty, conquering heroes, or other important persons.  Palm branches, in particular, may have been seen as a nationalistic symbol of Israel.  These sorts of demonstrations were sometimes specifically organized by local leaders to welcome Roman generals, Senators, or Caesars so that they were appropriately welcomed and would see that subjugated nations loved Rome and were obedient to Caesar.

Taken together, this probably looked like the sort of thing that could start a popular uprising against Roman authority, and the potential for that sort of uprising was exactly why a Roman fortress, the Fortress Antonia, was physically attached to the Temple courts.  Worse, the Romans stored the vestments of the high priest in that fortress, and if they were sufficiently perturbed, they would withhold access to the high priest, and there would be no holy day sacrifice.

And just in case you needed confirmation that the Sanhedrin knew about all of the shouting and the palm branches, Luke’s description of this event in Luke 19:39-40 includes this conversation:

39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

It’s a little odd that the selected scriptures that we read during each season of Lent always include the story of Lazarus, but skip the part where we hear the angry voices of Jerusalem’s leaders.  It is precisely because the resurrection of Lazarus, and the way in which that causes even more people to follow Jesus… it is precisely because this angers the Sanhedrin, and spurs them into action, that the story of Lazarus become a vital element of the Easter story.  In the minds of Jerusalem’s leaders, Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, and what is often described as his “triumphal entry,” only confirmed and solidified the decision that they had already made.

If they were going to keep the peace…

If they were going to keep the Romans from using violence to insure peace…

If they were going to maintain the status quo…

If they were going to keep their jobs, their positions, their influence, and their power…

If they were going to retain control of their temple and their nation…

Jesus must die.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Death Sandwich

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Death Sandwich

March 26, 2023*

(5th Sunday of Lent)

By Pastor John Partridge

Ezekiel 37:1-14                      John 11:1-45                          Romans 8:6-11

It has been painfully obvious to those of us in this room that death has been an all too frequent visitor to Christ Church over the last few months.  And, despite our awareness that human life is short and that none of us are immortal, that knowledge and awareness does not lessen our grief in any way.  Life is short and one day, and absent the return of Jesus Christ in our lifetimes, death will come for every one of us.  My brother Dean used to tell a story about the ridiculousness of human life.  

He said, “Think about the events that we look forward to, when we’re young we look forward to being five or six and going to Kindergarten, then to ten because it’s double digits, then thirteen and becoming a teenager, then sixteen so we can drive, then eighteen so we can vote, then twenty-one when we legally become an adult, then maybe twenty-four when we can rent a car…

… and then what?  Sixty-five and retirement!

At every stage of life we look forward to the next big thing, and sometimes we become so focused on the next big thing, that we get tunnel vision and fail to enjoy the gifts and the joy that we have in the present moment.  But, at the same time, particularly as we attend the funerals of our friends, we notice that the time that we have left is escaping us like the sands in an hourglass.

But if death is a common experience for all humanity, how do we feel about that?  If we’re honest, most of us try hard not to “feel about that,” to keep our minds on other things, and to ignore the passage of time.  As much as humanly possibly we try not to think about death.

But, surprise, that’s the subject of today’s conversation.  So, what should we think about death?

And as we think about that, we begin this morning by considering the story of the valley of dry bones contained in Ezekiel 37:1-14.  In that story, which you will find in today’s bulletin, but which I will not read, God calls Ezekiel, while he and the people of Israel are in captivity in Babylon and are grieving the loss of their freedom, their nation, their temple, and their worship.  And God’s call to Ezekiel gives him a vision of an enormous valley full of bones and calls upon Ezekiel to prophecy to the bones.  First he calls to the bones in the name of God and, as he did, the bones came together, tendons and muscles formed over them, and skin covered them.  And then God called Ezekiel to prophecy breath to the dead and to call upon the four winds to breathe into them and give them life.  And the winds came, and breath entered the bodies, they came to life and stood on their feet and became a vast army. 

And God said to Ezekiel, “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

Figuratively, the people of Israel were dead.  They had lost their homes, families, freedom, their nation, their temple, their worship and, by their way of thinking, maybe even their God.  They were a people who were as good as dead, but God calls to them, through his prophet, and declares that he will bring them up out of their graves, return them to their lands, and that they will live again.  God declared that exile was not the end, but that their lives would, one day be returned to them.

And that’s a nice story about grief, sadness, depression, exile, and God overcoming a figurative death.  But that’s not the end of the story.  In John 11:1-45, we hear a story about Jesus overcoming the very real death of his friend Lazarus.  That story is a little long but it’s worth reading, and I’m going to skip some of it, but it sounds like this:

11:1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

As an aside, we remember that in the timekeeping system of these ancient people, any part of a day counted as a day.  And so, if Lazarus was buried in the evening, that counts as the first day, and if Jesus stood in front of his tomb at the crack of dawn, that still counts as the fourth day, but even if both of those are true, Lazarus was sealed inside the tomb, without food or water, for something like sixty hours.  There is no way that Lazarus wasn’t really, completely, and entirely… dead.

40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

While Ezekiel was wrestling with figurative death, and received God’s promise of restoration, Jesus overcame a very real death when he restored Lazarus’ life, and also on several other occasions, and ultimately when he rose from the dead after his crucifixion.   

But why is that important for us as we mourn the loss of our friends and family, and as we grapple with our own mortality in the twenty-first century.  It’s important, and it matters because of the power that Jesus repeatedly demonstrated over death, and it matters because of the resurrection on Easter morning.  It matters because those things point us toward an understanding of death that Paul articulates for us in Romans 8:6-11 when he explains that…

6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Paul sums up all of today’s conversation by reminding us that Jesus Christ has the power over life and death.  God returned life in their home nation to the people who were exiled in Babylon.  Jesus restored the life of Lazarus and several others, suffered on the cross, died, and rose to life again after three days in the grave.  And Paul reminds us that if the Spirit of Jesus Christ lives in you, then death is not the end.  Like Israel, like Lazarus, and like Jesus, death becomes only the middle between one life and the next.  A ‘death sandwich’ if you will.  Death is not the end, it is only a transition while we become something new, different, and eternal.

In the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean, Davey Jones famously asks, “Do ye fear death? Do ye fear that dark abyss?”

And the answer of scripture is, no.  We need not fear death. Mostly because we don’t plan to be there very long… if at all.  Our transition may be so fast, perhaps as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:52, “in the twinkling of an eye,” our transition from this life into the next may be so fast that we won’t even notice.

… if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Blind Opinion

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Blind Opinion

March 19, 2023*

(4th Sunday of Lent)

By Pastor John Partridge

John 9:1-41

There is a way of misinterpreting scripture that may have grown out of the primitive worship of gods and idols that existed long before God revealed himself to Abraham.  For primitive people, if you prayed for rain, and it rained, then it was clear that the gods loved you.  But if there was a drought, then it must be because the gods were angry with you.  Despite testimony to the contrary that we find in the story of Job, that frame of mind shows up with some regularity in the Old Testament, where we find people claiming that they were wealthy because God loved them but that if you were poor, it much be because you sinned or did something wrong.  If we pay attention, we will notice that there are plenty of times in scripture where bad things happen to faithful, and good, even beloved, followers of God. 

This attitude toward the poor, the unfortunate, the victims of accidents, the sick, the infirm, the crippled, those with birth defects, and many others, continues into the time of the New Testament and, if we’re honest, still rears its ugly head in the words we hear from some televangelists and others who are selling some variation of what is now referred to as the prosperity gospel.  Jesus specifically preached against this attitude and understanding on multiple occasions, but one of the clearest of these is found in the story of his healing of the man who was born blind. (John 9:1-41)

9:1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

So common was this method of interpretation, that Jesus’ own disciples assumed that this man’s blindness simply must have been the result of someone’s sin.  For the disciples asking this question, that part of the equation wasn’t even in doubt.  The puzzle for them wasn’t if someone sinned, but who it was who had sinned.  Sin and punishment was assumed to be a part of this man’s infirmity and so the question that the disciples ask Jesus is “who sinned?”  They likely wonder how the blind man might have sinned even before he was born, or if God was somehow punishing the sin of his parents by making him to be born blind, which certainly seems unfair.  But Jesus replies that both options are wrong.

3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Jesus explains that sin isn’t the only reason that bad things happen.  But it’s also important to note that neither does Jesus say that God intentionally caused the man to be blind.  He doesn’t say that God made the man blind. But he does say that God intends to use the man’s blindness for a higher purpose.  In this particular instance, God has chosen to use this man’s blindness to reveal a little bit of Jesus’ light to the world.

6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was.

Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”

It’s worth stopping again here to point out that some of the man’s neighbors didn’t even consider the possibility of blindness being cured.  Even though they saw this guy every single day, they assumed that if the man in front of them wasn’t blind, then it simply had to be someone else.

But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

The man insistently tells his neighbors “No, REALLY, it MEEEE!

10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.

11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So, I went and washed, and then I could see.”

12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.

“I don’t know,” he said.

And here we gain some additional insight into the minds of the blind man’s neighbors, and maybe into the entire culture of that time.  As soon as they determine that their neighbor is no longer blind, their first reaction isn’t to throw a party, or to congratulate him, or to celebrate with him, their first response is to drag him into court.  To be fair, maybe this is because whenever a leper was cured of leprosy (which could have been any one of a dozen or more different skin diseases such as psoriasis), the cured person had to be brought into the temple, inspected by a priest, and “legally” or “officially” declared to be clean.  In that case, what we see here is that his neighbors bring the man into the courts of the temple so that he can be declared to be cleansed from the “sin” that had presented itself as blindness and therefore welcomed back into worship.

13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”

16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”

It is obvious that the man is no longer blind.  And so, now the argument shifts from his blindness to Jesus.  They don’t like Jesus and they don’t want to admit that Jesus could have been the agent who performed the healing of the blind man.  But the only way to deny that Jesus healed the blind man, is to discredit him and insist that because Jesus is a sinner, that the blind man was somehow healed some other way.  And, as we will see, this turns into an almost laughably funny circular argument.

But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So, they were divided.

17 Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”

The man replied, “He is a prophet.”

18 They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”

20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

The blind man’s parents are dragged in front of these powerful leaders and even before they are summoned, they already know that these powerful men do not like Jesus and have threatened to excommunicate anyone who claims that Jesus is the Messiah.  And so, being good and faithful Jews, but also parents who love their son, they do the best that they can to stay out of whatever trouble he is in, and not get caught between Jesus and these angry and powerful leaders.  They want to support their son, but they don’t want to get thrown out of the temple or their local synagogue.  And so, their answers don’t go any farther than they must.  They tell the truth but refuse to speculate beyond their own knowledge.  They swear that their son was, indeed, born blind but they have no firsthand knowledge of how he was healed, or who healed him and they refuse to speculate or comment further.

Their son, on the other hand, has spent his entire life outside the temple.  His blindness, much like leprosy, though not communicable, was seen as uncleanness, or more specifically un-wholeness, and thus prohibited him entering into a holy space.  Not only does he want to support the man that healed him, he literally has nothing to lose because they are threatening to take away something that he has never had.  And so…

24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth, “They said. “We know this man is a sinner.”

25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”

30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.

And right there we see that these church leaders believe the same misinterpretation of scripture that the disciples had.  They dismiss the (formerly) blind man and dismiss the value of his opinion and the value of his eyewitness testimony, because they believe that his blindness must have been caused by either his parents’ sinfulness or his own, and this continued blindness must, therefore, have been an outward sign of his sin and of God’s displeasure.  But…

35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”

41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

The Pharisees that were listening to Jesus teach were not stupid men.  They had dedicated their lives to studying scripture, and a strict obedience to keeping the oral and written law and they were surprised and offended that Jesus would call them blind.  But Jesus says that their blindness came because of their insistence that only their interpretation of scripture could be correct.

The truth was that bad things happen to good people.  The truth is that being poor doesn’t mean that God hates you, or is angry with you, or that God is punishing you for being sinful.  The truth is that being rich, or living in a rich nation, doesn’t mean that God loves you any more than poor people or people who live in other nations, or that your wealth is a sign of your righteousness.  The truth is that good people can be rich or poor, American, Asian, European, or African.  The truth is that sometimes bad things happen.  But when we have faith, God can use those bad things to accomplish good.

The other truth is that what God wants isn’t always obvious.  And, even when we spend our lives trying to get it right, we need to have the humility to recognize that sometimes we can get it wrong. 

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™